BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the Apprenticeship Pay Survey 2012 to be published.

David Willetts: We plan that the Apprenticeship Pay Survey will be published in July.

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken as a result of the follow-up research he commissioned into apprentices' pay, training and working hours.

David Willetts: The findings were used to inform the recent Richard Review so that we can continue to raise the quality of apprenticeships and better meet the needs of employers. We will publish an apprenticeship reform implementation plan in autumn 2013.

Audit: Insolvency

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit any auditor which is commissioned to report on the fiscal state of a company from also taking on the administration or liquidation of that company; and what assessment he has made of the Royal Bank of Scotland's decision to prohibit this practice.

Jo Swinson: It is vital that when an insolvency practitioner is appointed in an administration or liquidation, there is no conflict of interest to undermine the practitioner's objectivity and independence. Practitioners are bound by a code of ethics which addresses the situation described and although such an appointment is not automatically prohibited, in some circumstances it would not be appropriate for the practitioner to take the appointment. I am aware of the Royal Bank of Scotland's general approach in such matters but I am also aware that other organisations take a different view. We have no plans to introduce legislation at this time.

Billing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the potential financial benefits that could be achieved by paying suppliers early in return for rebates.

Michael Fallon: Cash flow difficulties arising from late payment affect the viability of many small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and as such would have a negative impact on GDP, although data is not available to quantify this. BACS have recently stated that they believe the total amount owed to SMEs in the UK economy in late invoices is up to £38 billion.
	The Government is supportive of early payment schemes which offer suppliers the opportunity to take payment early in return for a discount or fee, as long as they are offered in conjunction with fair payment terms rather than as a substitute.
	The Government's view is that all businesses should agree fair payment terms at the outset of a contract, and should pay their suppliers on time according to the agreed terms.

Business: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises there were in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the east midlands in each of the last five years.

Michael Fallon: The total number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the east midlands region between 2010 and 2012 are shown in table 1. Estimates before 2010 are not comparable.
	
		
			 Table 1: Estimated number of SMEs in the east midlands region 2010 to 2012(1) 
			  Number 
			 2010 305,400 
			 2011 306,630 
			 2012 324,595 
			 (1) The number of SMEs are based on private sector businesses with fewer than 250 employees that have a registered UK head office located in the east midlands. Source: Business Population Estimates for the UK and Regions, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. 
		
	
	Estimates of the total number of SMEs below regional level are not available. The only statistics available at lower levels of geography are for businesses that are VAT and/or PAYE registered and therefore they exclude a large number of smaller non employing businesses. Table 2 contains the published statistics for registered businesses with employment below 250 in both Nottinghamshire and Ashfield.
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of VAT and/or PAYE registered businesses in Nottinghamshire and Ashfield parliamentary constituency with employment below 250 (2008 to 2012) 
			  Nottinghamshire Ashfield 
			 2008 30,340 2,340 
			 2009 29,905 2,280 
			 2010 28,890 2,280 
			 2011 28,220 2,170 
			 2012 28,690 2,160 
			 Note: 1. The figures for Nottinghamshire are based on registered businesses with a UK head office located in either Nottinghamshire county council or the city of Nottingham unitary authority area. Source: UK Business: Activity, Size and Location, Office for National Statistics.

Companies: Ownership

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information on companies' beneficial ownership is to be registered with Companies House as part of the G8 action plan on corporate transparency.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will publish a discussion paper on corporate transparency before September 2013. This will consider and invite views on the implementation of a central registry of information on companies' beneficial ownership, including the information to be held by Companies House.

Companies: Ownership

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) criminal and (b) regulatory penalties are envisaged for failure to fully and accurately disclose the information required by the proposed central register on the beneficial ownership of companies.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will publish a discussion paper on corporate transparency before September 2013. This will consider and invite views on the implementation of a central registry of information on companies' beneficial ownership, including sanctions for the knowing or reckless provision of false or incomplete information; and for non provision of information.

Companies: Ownership

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what access the Serious Fraud Office and Crown Prosecution Service will have to the planned central register of information regarding the beneficial ownership of companies.

Jo Swinson: The UK Action Plan to prevent misuse of companies and legal arrangements states that companies' beneficial ownership information will be readily available to the authorities through a central registry of information on companies' beneficial ownership.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will publish a discussion paper on corporate transparency before September 2013. This will consider and invite views on the implementation of the registry, including access to the information in the registry.

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not employ any staff on zero-hour contracts.
	Information relating to the Department's non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	I have approached the chief executives of the Department's executive agencies (Insolvency Service, Companies House, National Measurement Office, Intellectual Property Office, UK Space Agency, Ordnance Survey, Met Office, Land Registry and the Skills Funding Agency) and they will respond to the hon. Member directly.
	Letter from Tim Moss
	I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 17 June 2013, to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, UIN 160760.
	Companies House has never employed any staff on zero-hour contracts.
	Letter from Vanessa Lawrence CB, dated 18 June 2013
	As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to reply to you in response to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills “how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13&”.
	Ordnance Survey does not employ members of staff on zero-hour contracts.
	
		
			  Number of staff on zero-hour contracts 
			 For the year 2010-11 0 
			 For the year 2011-12 0 
			 For the year 2012-13 0 
		
	
	I hope this information is of use.
	Letter from John Hirst, dated 19 June 2013
	I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 17 June 2013, UIN 160760 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Met Office retained no staff on zero-hour contracts during the period in question.
	I hope this helps.
	Letter from David Parker, dated 18 June 2013
	Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills asking how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.
	The UK Space Agency was established on 1 April 2011 and is an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It has employed no staff on zero-hour contracts during 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	Letter from Ed Lester, dated 19 June 2013
	I write on behalf of Land Registry in response to Parliamentary Question 160760 tabled on 17 June 2013 which asked the following:
	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.
	I can confirm that in Land Registry we do not retain any staff on zero hour contracts.
	I hope you find this information useful.
	Letter from Peter Mason, dated 20 June 2013
	I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO), an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 17 June 2013, asking the BIS Secretary of State about the number of staff retained on zero-hour contracts.
	NMO employs all staff on a permanent basis. There are however occasions when the recruitment of permanent staff cannot be justified, such as to resource a short-term project, at which point we utilise an approved framework of agency workers for periods of up to 11 months (currently we are utilising one agency worker).
	We understand 'zero-hour contracts' to apply to individuals who can be called upon to support the business but who are not guaranteed work. NMO does not employ staff on this basis. We do at times contract the supply of services from a limited number of contractors to deliver specialist requirements. The use of contractors is managed in accordance with BIS procurement procedures and is subject to regular review.
	Letter from John Alty, dated 20 June 2013
	I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 17th June 2013, to the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Intellectual Property Office did not retain any staff on zero-hour contracts during 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	Letter from Kim Thorneywork, dated 24 June 2013
	Thank you for your question in asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.
	Please be advised that the Skills Funding Agency response on any retained staff on zero hours contracts for the periods are:
	
		
			  Number 
			 (i) 2010-11 0 
			 (ii) 2011-12 0 
			 (iii) 2012-13 0 
		
	
	Letter from Dr Richard Judge, dated 20 June 2013
	The Secretary of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question, how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011 -12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.
	The Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, has not retained any staff on zero hours contracts during 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13.

Industry

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how the UK's industrial production has changed as a proportion of GDP in each of the last three years.

Michael Fallon: The output (in terms of gross value added) of the production industries, which consist of the extractive industries, manufacturing and utilities, as a percentage of total UK GVA, is listed in the following table.
	
		
			 Gross value added of the production industries as a percentage of total UK GVA 
			  Percentage 
			 2010 16.1 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 16.5 
			 2012 16.1 
			 Source: ONS National Accounts. 
		
	
	Gross domestic product (GDP) is a whole economy measure only and is not divisible to sector level. Gross value added (GVA) is equivalent to GDP minus the effect of taxes and subsidies which cannot be allocated to industrial sectors.

Land Registry Act 2002

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2013, Official Report, column 262W, on land use: Wales, how many notification letters relating to the Land Registry Act 2002 have been sent to UK residents since 1 January 2013.

Michael Fallon: 7,620 notices have been served to residents in England and Wales since 1 January 2013 relating to mines and minerals applications. Land Registry also covers England and Wales and so this figure does not include Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Minimum Wage: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the rise in non-compliance with the minimum wage for apprentices as highlighted in the 2013 Low Pay Commission report into the national minimum wage.

Jo Swinson: This Government is committed to the national minimum wage and is absolutely clear that everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.
	As the Government is absolutely clear that everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it, HMRC is continuing to follow up every complaint to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline, which provides free and confidential advice to workers.
	The Low Pay Commission's 2013 report takes into account the evidence in the 2012 Apprentice Pay Survey (to be published by the Government shortly). We are assessing the evidence in this survey to understand the reasons for non-compliance for apprentices. We are also analysing the qualitative information on the reasons for the calls to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline from apprentices and former apprentices.
	Our assessment of the evidence from the Apprentice Pay Survey, HMRC and other sources, will inform our actions on how best we can raise the level of compliance with the NMW rules, which will include improving our guidance and communications activity.

Minimum Wage: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to tackle non-compliance with the minimum wage for apprentices.

Jo Swinson: The Government is committed to the national minimum wage (NMW) and is absolutely clear that everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.
	We are taking action to reduce non-compliance across the piece (including apprentices).
	This includes:
	raising awareness to help employers avoid falling foul of the NMW rules unwittingly and so that individuals are well-informed about their NMW eligibility; and
	improving guidance and information more generally, to ensure clear, comprehensive and consistent information on the NMW rules.
	On enforcement, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is continuing to follow up every complaint to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline, which provides free and confidential advice to workers and employers. We are now prioritising calls from apprentices for consideration by HMRC compliance officers.

New Businesses: Staffordshire

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new companies were started in (a) Cannock Chase constituency and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last three years.

Michael Fallon: Companies House estimates that the number of new companies that were started in (a) Cannock Chase constituency and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last three years is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Cannock Chase constituency 
			  Number 
			 2010 670 
			 2011 890 
			 2012 900 
		
	
	
		
			 Staffordshire 
			  Number 
			 2010 4,661 
			 2011 5,275 
			 2012 5,547 
		
	
	These figures are estimates because Companies House derives them from postcode areas, which can cross constituency and county boundaries.

Overseas Companies: Developing Countries

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2013, Official Report, columns 253-4W, on overseas companies in developing countries, what steps he is taking to improve the transparency of all UK companies operating in developing countries in respect of environmental and social matters.

Jo Swinson: On 12 June 2013 I announced new reforms to simplify and strengthen companies' non-financial disclosures and asking all UK listed companies to report on social, human rights and environmental issues, including their policies on these matters, to the extent necessary for an understanding of their business. Companies will also be required to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.
	The Government is also committed to promoting compliance with international standards for business conduct, such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Pay

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department has undertaken on the effect of the living wage on small businesses.

Jo Swinson: There is no universally agreed definition of a living wage. Therefore, we have made no such assessment.

Pay

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department has undertaken on the effect of the living wage on employment.

Jo Swinson: There is no universally agreed definition of what the living wage is.
	One key Government policy for helping the low paid without adversely affecting employment is the national minimum wage (NMW). The role of the Low Pay Commission is to review the effects of the NMW on the basis of independent judgment and make recommendations to the Government. Their remit each year is to use analysis and evidence to set the NMW at a rate that achieves its aim of maximising the wages of the low paid without adverse effects on employment.
	Since the introduction of the NMW, hourly pay has increased more at the bottom end than at the median without a discernible adverse effect on employment. Therefore, it appears that the Low Pay Commission has achieved its objective. However, their judgment is that if the national minimum wage was set higher than its current rate it would have an adverse effect on employment.
	The recommendation this year is for the adult national minimum wage rate to rise 1.9% in October in line with expected average earnings growth and more than the general rise in out of work benefits (1%).

Pay

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimates his Department has made of the number of employees who currently earn less than the living wage in (a) Bedford constituency, (b) Greater London and (c) England and Wales other than Greater London.

Jo Swinson: There is no universally agreed definition of the living wage. Therefore, we have made no such assessment.

Public Expenditure

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the equality impact of his Department's spending reductions since 2010; whether this assessment has been used to inform his planning ahead of the 2013 comprehensive spending review and with what result; what plans he has to publish the equality impact assessments undertaken by his Department as a result of the upcoming comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: Following spending review 2010, and as the policies incorporating the spending reductions outlined within BIS' settlement were developed, assessments of the impacts on the protected groups identified in the Public Sector Equality Duty were undertaken. This analysis was published in the form of Equality impact assessments, available at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120717003945/bis.gov.uk/equality-impact-assessments
	BIS takes its obligation to demonstrate that it has given due regard to the impact of policies or practices on communities or on groups of individuals within communities seriously. In preparation for the 2015/16 spending round, consideration has been given to the impact of spend on protected groups, drawing on previous analysis. As with SR 2010, the most appropriate way to publish this will be at the time the policy reforms are implemented.

Regional Growth Fund

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of the successful bids for Round 2 of the Regional Growth Fund were for (a) loans and (b) grants.

Michael Fallon: Of the successful awards under Round 2 of the Regional Growth Fund, 137 have been awarded grants and one has been offered a loan.

Regional Growth Fund

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of the successful bids for grants from the Regional Growth Fund Round 2 have proceeded to (a) part payment and (b) full payment of the initial award.

Michael Fallon: 79 successful bidders from Round 2 of the Regional Growth Fund have been paid part of their grant. A further 25 successful bidders have received all their grant.

Social Enterprises

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of his Department’s suppliers are social enterprises.

Jo Swinson: The Department’s finance and procurement systems do not separately identify suppliers that are classed as social enterprises so the information requested cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	However, the Department encourages the use of all types of suppliers and is actively engaged with the Government Procurement Service to help suppliers of all types access Government and BIS contracts.

Students: Grants

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy to include individual voluntary arrangements when calculating the value of the grant a student is entitled to receive from Student Finance England.

David Willetts: The Government has no plans to include individual voluntary arrangements when calculating the value of means tested grants for students.
	The financial assessment, which determines entitlement to grants and an element of the loan for living costs, is based on taxable income, usually of a student's parents, although in certain circumstances it can be based on the student's own income and the income of the student's partner. This financial assessment does not take account of outgoings. Amounts payable under an individual voluntary arrangement agreed with creditors regarding payment of debts are not deductible in arriving at taxable income.
	The use of taxable income provides a standard measure of income which is fair to all students. It also aims to keep the system simple, enabling Student Finance England to assess entitlement to student support for around one million students per year as quickly and accurately as possible.

Students: Loans

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on retrospective increases in interest rates on existing student loans.

David Willetts: The interest rates to be applied to student loans from 1 September until 31 August each year are set out in the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations. We have no intention to increase retrospectively the interest rates that were applied in previous years.

Termination of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions (a) a compromise agreement, (b) a confidentiality clause and (c) judicial mediation was used when an employee of (i) his Department and (ii) the public bodies for which he is responsible left their employment in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) on 15 April 2013, Official Report, columns 261-62W, which provides the information requested for compromise agreements and confidentiality clauses.
	Regarding judicial mediation, we have no occasions of judicial mediation being used when an employee left the Department for the periods in question.

UK Trade and Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to hire outside consultants to undertake a root and branch analysis to establish the extent of shortcomings in the current UK Trade and Investment structure.

Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has no plans to hire outside consultants to undertake such an analysis.

UK Trade and Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to replace civil servants at UK Trade and Investment with experienced private sector professionals with commercial experience.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) delivers trade support and inward investment programmes around the English regions through incentivised contracts with private sector organisations. Services currently outsourced include the UK based advisory services provided by teams of International Trade Advisers in the English regions, the Export Marketing Research Scheme and the Export Communications Review service.
	In addition UKTI has also brought in private sector talent across its HQ structure, including in its senior management team.

UK Trade and Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to provide that UK Trade and Investment in future does not report to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office but is a stand-alone body along the lines of the Technology Strategy Board.

Michael Fallon: The Government has no plans to make UK Trade and Investment a stand-alone body outside the responsibilities of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Vocational Training

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department intends to extend its traineeship programme to young people aged between 20 and 24; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: Traineeships will be available for young people aged 16 to 19 and for young people with learning difficulty assessments up to academic age 25 from August 2013. Making traineeships available to other young people aged 19 up to age 24 remains under consideration.

WALES

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by his Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Crabb: One; in 2010-11 only.

S4C

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has made to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport about the future funding by his Department of S4C.

David Jones: I have had recent discussions, and corresponded with, ministerial colleagues at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on a variety of issues, including the future funding of S4C.

Termination of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions (a) a compromise agreement, (b) a confidentiality clause and (c) judicial mediation was used when an employee of his Department left their employment in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Crabb: None.

SCOTLAND

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by his Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: No staff in the Scotland Office were retained on zero-hour contracts in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 or (c) 2012-13.

Employment

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to his answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 469W, on unemployment, what the geographical location of the increase in employment from February to April 2013 is; and what proportion of such jobs are (a) full-time and (b) part-time.

Michael Moore: The latest available employment data, at a sub Scotland level, is for the period between January 2012 and December 2012. Data on full and part-time work is only available at Scotland level for the same period. The full set of employment data for all Scottish local authorities can be found at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/contents.aspx
	including part-time jobs for the period up to 2008.

Employment

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to his answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 469W, on unemployment, what assessment he has made of the total loss to the Scottish economy as a result of underemployment.

Michael Moore: Recent assessments of the economy in Scotland over the last year show that: there are 43,000 more people in employment; unemployment has decreased by 25,000 and 6,800 fewer people are claiming benefit. This is welcome news and the Scotland Office will continue to work with partners in Scotland to improve all areas of the labour market.

Income Tax

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to his answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 468W, on income tax, if he will report immediately any increases in the estimated implementation cost of the Scottish rate of income tax once this figure is calculated.

Michael Moore: Parliament will continue to be updated on the implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax as work progresses, including any changes to the cost estimates. HMRC expects to be able to provide an updated estimate of the operational cost of implementing the Scottish rate of income tax later in 2013-14 when planned work on designing the process for identifying Scottish taxpayers is undertaken. An updated estimate of the cost of IT changes is expected to be available during 2014-15 following more detailed work on their implementation.

Unemployment

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland have been unemployed for two years or more in each month since May 2010.

Michael Moore: The non-seasonally adjusted regional monthly data on the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance for more than 24 months in Scotland, for the period up to May 2012, is publically available on the ONS website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-268296
	Official labour market statistics data predating this period can be obtained from nomis at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) her Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: My Department did not retain any staff on zero-hour contracts during 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and one advisory non-departmental public body—the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. As these bodies are independent of Government, the hon. Member may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters—contact details are set out in the following table.
	
		
			 ALB Status Contact details 
			 Parades Commission for Northern Ireland Executive NDPB info@paradescommission.org 
			 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Executive NDPB information@nihrc.org 
			 Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland Advisory NDPB bcni@belfast.org.uk

G8: County Fermanagh

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the (a) security cost and (b) total cost to the public purse of the G8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.

Theresa Villiers: The Government has committed to publishing in full costs relating to the summit once all the details are available.

Termination of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions (a) a compromise agreement, (b) a confidentiality clause and (c) judicial mediation was used when an employee of (i) her Department and (ii) the public bodies for which she is responsible left their employment in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: My Department used compromise agreements on the following occasions:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2011-12 1 
			 2012-13 2 
		
	
	In line with normal practice, confidentiality clauses were used in relation to the above compromise agreements.
	Judicial mediation was not used during the periods in question.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and one advisory non-departmental public body—the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. As these bodies are independent of Government, the hon. Member may wish to write to the Commissions direct on these matters—contact details are set out in the following table.
	
		
			 ALB Status Contact details 
			 Parades Commission for Northern Ireland Executive NDPB info@paradescommission.org 
			 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Executive NDPB information@nihrc.org 
			 Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland Advisory NDPB bcni@belfast.org.uk

PRIME MINISTER

Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters

John Robertson: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with the administrations of each of the Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories on the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn), during my statement on the G8 on 19 June 2013, Official Report, column 914.

JUSTICE

Bail

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offences have been committed by individuals remanded on bail in each month from April 2010 to April 2012.

Jeremy Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the right hon. Member for Tooting (Sadiq Khan) on 6 February 2013, Official Report, columns 310-15W:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130206/text/130206w0004.htm#130206116004317
	The figures show that there has been a notable decline in the number of offences committed by offenders remanded on bail, since 2010.
	Dangerous offenders should always be remanded in custody. We expect the police and courts to take extreme care when making a decision to grant bail and the overwhelming majority of people bailed do not reoffend while on bail. Those who do should receive a longer sentence as a result.

Claims Management Services

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints he received about claims management companies in 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The Claims Management Regulation (CMR) Unit received 14,282 complaints from businesses and consumers about claims management companies (CMCs) in 2012. The CMR Unit will deal robustly with any CMCs that adopt poor business practices, and we are also working towards commencing powers under the Legal Services Act 2007 to extend the Legal Ombudsman jurisdiction to take on the handling of service complaints from consumers against CMCs.

Community Orders

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of community orders and licences were successfully completed in each region of England and Wales in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested in relation to 2010-11 and 2011-12 remains as stated in my answer of 31 January 2013, Official Report, columns 949-50W, to the hon. Member’s earlier question on this subject, available at:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130131/text/130131w0003.htm#13013165002854
	Performance out-turns for 2012-13 will be available following publication of the 2012-13 NOMS annual report and associated performance and management information.

Coroners: Essex

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many inquests opened and adjourned by HM Coroner for Essex and Thurrock have been awaiting (a) hospital and (b) GP reports for more than (i) six months and (ii) one year.

Helen Grant: 531 inquests were opened in the Essex and Thurrock coroner jurisdiction in 2012 and 21 inquests were permanently adjourned in 2012 under Section 16(l)(a) of the Coroners Act 1988 due to criminal proceedings taking place. The Ministry of Justice does not collect any data regarding reasons for adjournment.
	In 2012, 78 inquests were concluded in the Essex and Thurrock coroner jurisdiction relating to deaths which occurred in England and Wales which had been ongoing for one month or less. 181 inquests were concluded which lasted between one and three months, 92 lasted three to six months, 78 lasted six to 12 months and 103 were concluded which lasted over 12 months.
	The average time taken to process an inquest in Essex and Thurrock in 2012, for deaths in England and Wales, was 28 weeks, compared to the national average of 26 weeks.
	Information held by MO in relation to coroners is published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coroners-statistics

Courts: Translation Services

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the costs of jobs procured outside the framework agreement between his Department and Capita IT under the interpreting and translation services and applied language solutions contract.

Helen Grant: There has been a dramatic improvement in the performance of the interpreter contract since initial problems at the start of 2012, with the vast majority of bookings now being completed and a major reduction in complaints. Our changes saved taxpayers £15 million in the first year of the contract. We have recently put in place a series of changes to fees to drive further improvement, following discussions with interpreters and the contractor.
	The Ministry of Justice is currently in the process of collecting data about interpretation jobs procured outside of the framework. This work is being progressed in light of recommendations made by the Justice Committee. I will be in a position to confirm on our estimate of monthly expenditure from April 2013 onwards after the summer, once this data has been collected and verified.

Legal Aid Scheme

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what obligations solicitors have to advise clients on their potential entitlement to legal aid.

Chris Grayling: The Government do not impose a general obligation on solicitors to advise potential clients on legal aid entitlement. Although those holding a contract to provide legal aid are required to assess clients' entitlement.
	The conduct of solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The SRA Code of Conduct includes a non-mandatory requirement to discuss how the client will pay, including whether public funding may be available, whether the client has insurance that might cover the fees, and whether the fees may be paid by someone else such as a trade union.
	Additionally, members of the public can find out whether they might be eligible to receive legal aid by using the new online information service, ‘Check Legal Aid’
	www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid
	and if so, find an appropriate legal aid provider. For those who are not eligible for legal aid, the service will provide people with information on, and access to, alternative sources of help and assistance, to help them resolve their problems.

National Franchised Dealers Association

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials of his Department have met the National Franchised Dealers Association to discuss PPI claims by claims management companies.

Helen Grant: I have responded to the letter dated 7 May 2013 from the NFDA, inviting them to contact the Department to arrange a meeting with officials to discuss this matter further.

Offenders

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the unit cost per offender of managing sex offenders in the community when such offenders have been (a) given a non-custodial sentence and (b) released from custody in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the unit cost per offender managed under multi-agency public protection arrangements in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not available. The probation unit costing system (PREview) does not produce separate costs for types of offender, such as sex offenders or those supervised under MAPPA.
	However, the PREview system does produce the average cost of an offender supervised on a community order/suspended sentence order and of an offender supervised on licence post-custody. These costs are published on the Ministry of Justice website on an annual basis. Costs for 2011-12 are available at the following address:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/163294/probation-trust-unit-costs-tables-11-12.pdf.pdf

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research his Department has undertaken into the cost-effectiveness of programmes to supervise former inmates for 12 months after they leave prison.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice's published “Transforming Rehabilitation: A Strategy for Reform” on 9 May that sets out the reforms for how offenders will be rehabilitated in the community. As a part of this we expect to see more use of innovative approaches, such as mentoring and signposting to services aimed at housing, training and employment, to tackle the root causes of offending.
	Under these reforms, we will be legislating to provide statutory supervision and rehabilitation to short sentenced prisoners, i.e. those sentenced to less than 12 months in prison. The actual cost of future service provision to this group will depend on the outcomes of competitions conducted to select providers.
	Published MOJ analysis shows that, when differences between offenders are controlled for, there is up to an 8 percentage point difference in reoffending rates between those on community orders and those who received a short prison sentence—currently without statutory rehabilitation on release. Therefore, there is evidence to suggest that extending supervision to those serving under 12 months will reduce reoffending among this group, and thereby the cost of crime committed by offenders released from short prison sentences, which in 2010, the National Audit Office estimated was around £7 billion to £10 billion a year.
	Reference: Compendium of Reoffending Statistics 2011:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130315183909/http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/compendium-of-reoffending-statistics-and-analysis

Personnel Management

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials in his Department were employed in human resources functions in each of the last five years; at what grades such staff were employed; and what the total cost of his Department's human resources functions was.

Helen Grant: The number of staff and the cost of the human resources functions at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ HQ, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, National Offender Management Service and the Office of the Public Guardian) is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  HR (FTE) Cost of HR function (£ million) 
			 2008-09 961.9 79.5 
			 2009-10 843 64.3 
			 2010-11 814 49.3 
			 2011-12 685 40.1 
		
	
	For 2012-13, this information is not yet available.
	Information on the grade breakdown for the staff is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Prison Sentences

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of (a) custody plus and (b) custody minus outlined in the then Home Office programme following publication of the Holloway report, with an update in current prices; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The Halliday report led to the measures contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The overall sentencing package contained in that Act was estimated as requiring an additional 1,000 prison places, in steady state. The measures were not costed individually. However, not all the sentencing measures were commenced. Custody plus was repealed on 3 December 2012 under the provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Prison Service

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many allegations of each category of criminal activity in the workplace have been made in the Prison Service in each year since 2010; and how many were (a) referred and (b) not referred to the police in each such year;
	(2)  how many allegations of criminal activity in the workplace have been made in the Prison Service in each year since 2010 for each category of offence.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisoners

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been in prison in each of the last five years; how many and what proportion of such prisoners earned wages for work in prison; how many and what proportion of such prisoners earned (a) more than £50, (b) between £20 and £50, (c) between £10 and £20 and (d) less than £10 per week; what proportion of such prisoners had deductions for restorative justice purposes of (i) more than £10, (ii) between £5 and £10 and (iii) less than £5 a week; what proportion of such prisoners had deductions for administrative purposes of (A) more than £10, (B) between £5 and £10 and (C) less than £5 a week; what proportion of such prisoners were serving sentences of (1) more than 10, (2) between five and 10, (3) between one and five and (4) less than one year; and what proportion of such prisoners were (x) men and (y) women.

Jeremy Wright: Figures showing the average prison population for Public and Private Sector Prisons from 2007-08 to 2011-12 are given in the following table.
	
		
			 Average population 
			  Total 
			 2007-08 80,677 
		
	
	
		
			 2008-09 82,376 
			 2009-10 83,524 
			 2010-11 84,753 
			 2011-12 86,048 
		
	
	As part of the Government's Transparency Agenda, the Department routinely publishes full details of average prison population for Private and Public Sector Prison in England and Wales after the end of the financial year. They are published as an Addendum to the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts and available on the Department's website.
	Copies of these are also placed in the House Library. The National Offender Management Service's central accounting system has a single accounting code for Public Sector prisoners' earnings. It does not separately identify details of individual prisoners' earnings.
	To obtain the information for prisoners serving sentences in both public and private prisons would require investigating details from each establishment on prisoner earnings recorded against each prisoner for the last five years. As the prisoners earnings are not fixed or set at a particular level and the amount of individual pay is determined by each local establishment, this would require examining individual prisoner records to establish those who have undertaken employment each year and the amounts paid to them which would be a significant exercise and could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	In addition, to separate out the amount earned by prisoners into the various categories indicated would, again, require examining a high volume of local individual records from each establishment over a five year period and this would incur disproportionate costs.
	Governors at Public Sector Prisons have devolved authority to set rates of pay for their particular establishment and these will reflect the particular regime priorities of their establishment.
	Prisoners earnings are not fixed or set at a particular level and other than centrally-prescribed minimum pay rates. It is Prison Service policy that all prisoners who participate in purposeful activity such as work (enabling them to obtain life skills), must be paid. The purpose of paying prisoners is to encourage and reward their constructive participation in the regime of the establishment. For prisoners who work, the minimum employed rate is £4 with the average wage being £9.60 per week (based on a prison-wide survey undertaken in 2007). Prisoners who refuse to work receive no pay. Existing policy on Prisoners' Pay is set out in Prison Service Order 4460, a copy of which is available in the House Library.
	In 2010-11 prisons delivered around 10.6 million prisoner working hours which increased to over 11.4 million hours in 2011-12.

Prisoners’ Transfers

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoner transit movements were made between (a) court and prison and (b) prison to prison in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012;
	(2)  how many prisoner transit movements there were (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Jeremy Wright: The Prisoner Escort Custody Service (PECS), which is part of the National Offender Management Service, is responsible for the movement of prisoners between prisons, police stations and courts and their care and security while in court custody. PECS manages the secure escort contracts covering all those sent to custody in the prison estate, apart from category A prisoners. The following table provides information on the total number of prisoner journeys, other than of category A prisoners. It also shows the number of journeys between courts and prisons and from prison to prison.
	
		
			 Number 
			 As at April to March each year Total escorted Between court and prison Inter-prison transfers 
			 2010-11 918,322 572,126 72,152 
			 2011-12 880,055 571,173 67,779 
			 2012-13 823,765 530,638 74,054 
		
	
	Information on category A prisoner movements is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on the prison system in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Wright: As part of the Government's Transparency Agenda, the Department routinely publishes full details of resource outturn expenditure for the Prison Service within the Annual Report and Accounts for the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and previously HM Prison Service after the end of the financial year. The information for financial year 2009-10 to 2010-11 is available on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-performance-statistics-2009-2011
	The most recently published accounts for financial year 2011-12 can be found at the following website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-2011-12
	Copies of these and the prior years Annual Report and Accounts for HM Prison Service/National Offender Management Service are also placed in the House Library.
	Figures for outturn expenditure for financial year 2012-13 have not yet been finalised or audited and therefore not yet available.
	Outturn expenditure for public and private prisons in England and Wales for financial year 2002-03 to 2008-09 is follows:
	
		
			  Total expenditure (£ million) 
			 2008-09 3.375 
			 2007-08 3.160 
			 2006-07 2.961 
			 2005-06 2.787 
			 2004-05 2.407 
			 2003-04 2.281 
			 2002-03 2.405 
		
	
	Over the period covered, changes to the scope of the Prison Service and the accounting treatment followed in recording expenditure means the ability to make useful comparisons between years is limited.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on unpaid work programmes being introduced to prisons as a condition of prisoners' sentences.

Jeremy Wright: Unpaid work is a sentence which is served in the community. It is one of 13 potential requirements of a community or suspended sentence order. The requirement cannot be imposed as a condition of a prison sentence and there are no current plans to make unpaid work available as part of a prison sentence. Existing prison rules enable prisoners to be compelled to work, as necessary.
	Steps are being taken to increase the work available for prisoners to contribute to their rehabilitation and to enable them to pay compensation to the victims of crime in accordance with the Prisoners' Earnings Act, which the Government brought into force in 2011.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential for increased job creation for prisoners in prisons.

Jeremy Wright: We want as many prisoners as possible to work within prisons. ONE3ONE Solutions was created to fulfil this ambition and has developed growth plans and capacity assessments for key market sectors. Increased work for prisoners will be delivered via a combination of commercial contracts, work secured locally by prisons and increased access to government contracts.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of prisoners are in receipt of (a) unemployment pay and (b) the minimum employed rate of pay.

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service's central accounting system has a single accounting code for public sector prisoners' earnings. It does not separately identify unemployment pay and payments made under the minimum rate of pay or details of the proportion of prisoners in receipt of such payments.
	To obtain this information for both public and private prisons would require us to examine individual prisoner employment records from each establishment to establish those who are in receipt of unemployment pay or the minimum employed rate of pay and this would be a significant exercise and could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what purposeful activities are currently undertaken in prisons.

Jeremy Wright: ‘Purposeful activity' is a term used to describe the wide range of activities which help reduce the risk of prisoners reoffending on release. They include work, training, education, PE and programmes designed to tackle the causes of their offending. Purposeful activity also includes activities carried out by prisoners to help prepare them for their successful resettlement—for example, help them to secure accommodation, employment and the continuity of services which help tackle their substance misuse problems.

Prisons: Television

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on prisoners who are in hospital having access to television.

Daniel Poulter: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Department of Health does not issue guidance to national health service hospitals in respect of prisoners having access to televisions.
	Any decisions regarding prisoners' access to televisions is made locally between the NHS hospital and the Prison Service.
	Prisoners are entitled to receive the same healthcare as non-prisoners. When receiving treatment as an inpatient, a prisoner is also entitled to receive the same non-healthcare services which are available to non-prisoners.

Reoffenders

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reoffending rate was for (a) male and (b) female inmates in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The table shows the reoffending rates for adult offenders released from custody in 2010 and the year ending June 2011 (latest available). These figures are a further breakdown of table 18a of the proven re-offending statistics quarterly bulletin available via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/series/reoffending-statistics
	
		
			  January 2010 to December 2010 July 2010 to June 2011 
			 Male   
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 47.8 47.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort 51,395 52,188 
			    
			 Female   
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 44.8 44.9 
			 Number of offenders in cohort 4,889 4,903 
		
	
	Reoffending rates (for all adult offenders) have barely changed in a decade with the latest figures showing a small rise from 24.9% in the year ending June 2010 to 25.5% in the year ending June 2011.
	We cannot go on seeing reoffending rates at this level. That is why we are both toughening penalties and pressing ahead with radical reform of how we mentor and rehabilitate offenders to stop the revolving door of the criminal justice system.

Reoffenders

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the reoffending rate in England and Wales was for people sentenced to community orders lasting (a) 12, (b) 24 and (c) 36 months, one year after completion of that order, in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what the reoffending rate in England and Wales was for people who were sentenced to periods of imprisonment of less than 12 months in the 12 months following release in each year since 2005;
	(3)  what the reoffending rate in England and Wales was for people sentenced to unpaid work for (a) 120, (b) 240 and (c) 360 hours within one year after completion of that order in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Wright: The figures cannot be provided. Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on proven reoffending measure reoffending over 12 months from the start of a community order, not the point of completion.
	The latest Proven Reoffending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin, which provides reoffending data for the July 2010 to June 2011 offender cohort, is available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/proven-re-offending--2
	One year proven reoffending rates for adult offenders in England and Wales who started community orders between January 2005 and June 2011 can be found in Table 20. This table also includes separate rates for those who were given an unpaid work requirement as part of their community order.
	One year proven reoffending rates for adult offenders in England and Wales released from custodial sentences of less than 12 months between 2000 and the 12 months ending June 2011 are published in Table 19a of the Proven Reoffending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin, which is available at the aforementioned link.

Repossession Orders

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people had their homes repossessed in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of such people had children.

Helen Grant: The information requested is not available. The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the total number of repossessions as these can occur without a court order, such as where borrowers hand the keys back to the lender. Our figures only include repossessions carried out by county court bailiffs, and do not include how many people lived in the accommodation prior to repossession, and also do not include whether, or how many, children lived in the repossessed properties prior to repossession.

Repossession Orders

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many homes were repossessed by county court bailiffs in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency, (b) Cumbria and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Helen Grant: The information requested is not available. The Ministry of Justice holds information on the number of repossession actions that are carried out by county court bailiffs. Because a repossession action can pertain to more than one home the exact number of homes repossessed is not available.

Victim Support Schemes

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what funding his Department has allocated to victims' services, excluding compensation and legal aid, in 2013-14.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice has allocated over £50 million to organisations providing support to victims of crime in 2013-14.
	In future years we will raise up to an additional £50 million to fund victims' services through reforms of the Victim Surcharge, which were introduced in October 2012, and increased financial penalties such as Penalty Notices for Disorder and Fixed Penalty Notices.

Victim Support Schemes

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of people referred to victims' services by the police had been in previous contact with (a) police forces, (b) social services and (c) victims' services in each year since 2005.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice does not record or hold this information. However, the Government is committed to ensuring that victims get the support they need, including victims of repeat offending. That is why we have identified persistently targeted victims as being in need of an enhanced level of support from criminal justice agencies and victims' services. We are implementing reforms to ensure that these victims get the right support, tailored to their specific needs.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support Agency

Andrew McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many payments have been missed or underpayed to clients as a result of error by the Child Support Agency since 2010; what the average wait time for these errors to be rectified is; how many compensation payments have been made to clients who have been underpayed or had their payments delayed; and what the total cost of these compensation payments is to his Department.

Steve Webb: The client fund accounting system is not able to report how many payments have been missed, nor the wait time for the correction of these errors.
	When an error is made and payment is made to the wrong parent with care, the CSA does not wait for the return of the funds before correcting the error. In accordance with child maintenance legislation, funding is taken from the administration account to ensure the mistake is remedied as soon as possible.
	Payment delays can give rise to the CSA making compensation payments, if they cause the individual financial loss. Other errors by the CSA can also result in financial loss: for example if a change in circumstances is not actioned. The CSA can quantify the total cost of compensation paid for financial loss in any period but not the amount specifically relating to payment delay.

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) I can confirm that no staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by the Department of Work and Pensions in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011 -12 and (iii) 2012-13.
	(b) The only non-departmental public body with staff retained on zero-hour contracts is Remploy:
	(i) 2010-11: 18 employees in Remploy on zero hour contracts
	(ii) 2011-12: 22 employees in Remploy on zero hour contracts
	(iii) 2012-13: 27 employees in Remploy on zero hour contracts.

Employment and Support Allowance

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average duration is of a claimant on employment and support allowance, by age group.

Mark Hoban: Information we have for the number of employment and support allowance recipients by duration of the current claim, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Employment and support allowance caseload: Age of claimant by duration of current claim, November 2012 
			  Total Up to 3 months 3 months up to 6 months 6 months up to 1 year 1 year up to 2 years 2 years up to 5 years 
			 Total 1,447,980 304,660 235,370 360,220 303,800 243,930 
			        
			 Under 18 4,360 1,600 910 890 950 — 
			 18 to 24 134,200 29,120 20,080 23,670 29,710 31,630 
			 25 to 34 226,250 50,840 38,680 54,900 48,100 33,730 
			 35 to 44 321,480 64,730 52,450 81,340 70,240 52,710 
			 45 to 49 215,700 43,050 34,740 56,500 45,560 35,840 
			 50 to 54 221,850 46,060 36,380 59,070 44,790 35,560 
			 55 to 59 224,280 48,160 36,900 59,880 44,480 34,860 
		
	
	
		
			 60+ 99,860 21,100 15,230 23,960 19,970 19,600 
			 — denotes nil or negligible. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Figures may not sum due to rounding. 2. These figures are available at: http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets he has set for the performance of jobcentres in relation to the Youth Contract.

Mark Hoban: The Youth Contract consists of 250,000 opportunities over three years from April 2013. We are working closely with local Jobcentre Plus offices to fill these opportunities.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Peterborough constituency and (b) Peterborough City Council area affected by changes in housing benefit as a result of the under-occupancy penalty; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available at a constituency or local authority level.
	Estimated numbers of claimants affected by the under-occupancy measure in Great Britain by region are given in the equality impact assessment at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011.pdf

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average duration is of a claimant on jobseeker's allowance, by age group.

Mark Hoban: Information we have for the number of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) recipients by median duration of a completed spell of unemployment, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Average length of a completed JSA claim, Median duration in weeks, of completed spells of unemployment: May 2013 
			  Number of completed claims Median duration 
			 All ages 256,255 11.7 
			 Aged under 17 190 3.9 
			 Aged 17 945 4.6 
			 Aged 18 9,830 7.8 
			 Aged 19 12,920 10.8 
			 Aged 20 to 24 59,465 10.8 
			 Aged 25 to 29 40,500 11.2 
			 Aged 30 to 34 29,005 12.1 
			 Aged 35 to 39 21,930 13.0 
			 Aged 40 to 44 22,445 13.8 
			 Aged 45 to 49 21,495 13.4 
			 Aged 50 to 54 18,135 12.9 
			 Aged 55 to 59 13,505 12.6 
			 Aged 60 and over 5,880 14.2 
			 Notes: 1. Data is available at: www.nomisweb.co.uk 2. Completed claims are rounded to the nearest 5. 3. Median is measured in number of weeks. 4. Median is a better measure of “average” than arithmetic mean for skewed distributions such as duration of claim. Source: DWP WPLS 100% data

Pensioners: Poverty

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pensioners in absolute poverty own their own homes.

Steve Webb: This information is available in table 6.14 ts on page 241 of 'Households Below Average Income', published on 13 June 2013 by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Pensions

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pensioners in 2020 are expected to have (a) 35, (b) 30 to 35, (c) 20 to 29, (d) 10 to 19, (e) seven to nine and (f) fewer than seven qualifying years.

Steve Webb: The Department projects that around 85% of single-tier pensioners in Great Britain in 2020 will have 35 qualifying years or more to the single-tier pension. The proportions with different ranges of qualifying years are in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of qualifying years to the basic state pension for single-tier pensioners in 2020 
			 Number of qualifying years to single-tier pension Proportion in 2020 (single-tier pensioners) (percentage) 
			 0 to 6 (1)— 
			 7 to 9 (1)— 
			 10 to 19 5 
			 20 to 29 5 
			 30 to 34 5 
			 35+ 85 
			 (1) Represents less than 5% in this group. Source: DWP modelling based on PENSIM2.

Social Enterprises

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of his Department's suppliers are social enterprises.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold a full breakdown of which suppliers, and what proportion of their supply chains, are social enterprises.
	However, from the information we do hold, which relates to prime suppliers receiving commercial payments only, in the period 1 April to 31 May 2014, we have paid a total of £30.37 million to 513 suppliers who are social enterprises.

Social Security Benefits

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) employment and support allowance, (b) incapacity benefit, (c) severe disablement allowance and (d) national insurance credits or income support claimants are currently in supported permitted work.

Mark Hoban: Detailed information on supported permitted work is not available centrally for employment and support allowance (ESA) and could be provided only at disproportionate cost;
	Information on supported permitted work is not collected in relation to national insurance credits or income support.
	The information held, in relation to incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) claimants with supported permitted work: Great Britain—November 2012 
			  IB claimants SDA claimants 
			 November 2012 5,800 5,200 
			 Notes: 1. Figures have been produced using 5% sample data and have been rated up proportionally using the Great Britain WPLS 100% IB/SDA totals. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Source: DWP, Information Governance and Security Directory, 5% Sample.

Social Security Benefits

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many claimants currently in supported permitted work will be affected by the move to universal credit;
	(2)  whether transitional protections will apply to those claimants moving into the universal credit system who will face a loss of income as a result of the removal of permitted work rules under universal credit;
	(3)  how the change in arrangements for people in supported permitted work (SPW) following the introduction of universal credit will be communicated to (a) people currently undertaking SPW and (b) organisations which support those people.

Mark Hoban: Information on the number of claimants currently in supported permitted work who will be affected by the move to universal credit is not available. However, no-one already on benefit whose circumstances remain the same will lose out in cash terms as a direct result of the move to universal credit. These claimants will be given transitional protection to avoid cash loss at the point of change.
	We have produced a wide range of universal credit content for stakeholder groups who may interact with claimants, via a partner toolkit. We have promoted the toolkit extensively to these organisations and it is available on the GOV.UK website. We are also working closely with organisations that represent vulnerable claimants to inform our approach and ensure the information needs of the people they represent are met.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much was withheld as a result of benefit sanctions in 2012-13;
	(2)  what the average amount withheld per benefit sanction was in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: An estimate of the amount withheld as a result of benefit sanctions cannot be made for a number of reasons. Primarily, we do not know what benefits and payments the claimants would have received had the sanctions not been applied.

Social Security Benefits: Mental Illness

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the needs of those with a life-long mental health condition which prevents them working are met during the assessment process for benefits;
	(2)  what assistance the Government makes available to ensure that those with life-long mental health conditions are supported in making claims for benefits.

Mark Hoban: The DWP recognise that individuals with mental health conditions face certain challenges in the application and assessment process for benefits. Special provisions are therefore in place to support individuals with a mental health condition in making a claim.
	For example, during the application process for both employment and support allowance and personal independence payment, claimants with mental, intellectual and cognitive impairments who do not return their claim form are referred directly to the assessment provider for a face-to-face consultation, rather than ending their claim. Information sent to the claimant before the face-to-face consultation also specifies that they may bring a relative, carer or friend to the assessment.
	All health professionals carrying out disability assessments receive specific training in assessing mental health conditions. In addition Mental Function Champions spread best practice and also provide support in more complex cases to their health professional colleagues.
	As a result to recent changes to the WCA it is now more accurately assessing people with a mental health condition. Shortly after ESA was introduced, 33% of people claiming with mental health condition received the benefit. Latest published figures show that is now 43%.

Social Security Benefits: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions have been applied to claimants in each quarter since 1 April 2012 in each parliamentary constituency in South East Wales.

Mark Hoban: The sanctions regime for people in the employment support allowance (ESA) work related activity group (WRAG) changed from the beginning of December 2012. As a result of the changes to the regime, the Department reviewed its methodology for publishing ESA sanctions official statistics. The review identified an error in the official statistics measure leading to double counting of some sanctions. For this reason, statisticians at the DWP decided to suspend publication of ESA sanctions statistics. DWP is aiming to publish the first set of statistics for the new ESA sanctions regime by August 2013 alongside a revised historical series. These statistics have been delayed from a May release to allow the new regime to bed in and to allow sufficient quality assurance.
	Statistics on how many sanctions have been applied to jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants since 1 April 2012, for which figures are available, in each parliamentary constituency in South East Wales are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Number(1) of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) sanctions applied(2) in South East Wales by Westminster parliamentary constituency(3) and month of decision:(7 )1 April 2012 to 31 May 2012 
			  Month of decision(7) 
			 Westminster parliamentary constituency(3) April 2012 May 2012 
			 Torfaen 70 90 
			 Monmouth 50 60 
			 Newport East 110 130 
			 Newport West 130 150 
			 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 100 170 
			 Blaenau Gwent 130 190 
			 Caerphilly 150 200 
			 Islwyn 60 80 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. (2)Sanctions applied: The number of sanctions applied is the number of Varied(4), Fixed Length(5) and Entitlement Decision(6) referrals where the decision was found against the claimant. (3)Westminster parliamentary constituency: Westminster parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. Boundaries are as at the reference date. More information and a map can be found at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/maps/index.html (4)Varied Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for leaving employment voluntarily without just cause, refusing employment without good cause, or losing employment through misconduct. The actual period in each case is at the discretion of the adjudication officer who makes the decision. (5 )Fixed Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for refusal, without good cause, to attend an employment programme or carry out a jobseeker's direction. Payment of benefit continues in full pending the adjudication officer's decision on a sanction question. (6 )Entitlement Decisions: These are questions on which entitlement to JSA depends. For example, if there is doubt around whether the jobseeker's agreement (JSAg) is suitable, whether they are actively looking for work or making themselves available for work. In most cases payment of JSA will be suspended by benefit processing until the doubt is resolved. (7)Month of Decision: The month in which the decision to apply a sanction was made. This table only includes data up to and including 31 May 2012, which is the latest data available by Westminster parliamentary constituency. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. 
		
	
	Statistics on how many sanctions have been applied to income support lone parent (ISLP) claimants since 1 April 2012, for which figures are available, in each parliamentary constituency in South East Wales are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Number(1) of income support lone parent (ISLP) sanctions(2) applied in South East Wales by Westminster parliamentary constituency(3) by month: 1 April 2012 to 31 December 2012 
			  Month when sanction applied 
			  2012 
			 Westminster parliamentary constituency(3) Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 
			 Torfaen — 10 10 10 10 10 — 10 — 60 
			 Monmouth — 10 — — — — 10 — — 20 
			 Newport East 10 10 10 10 10 — 10 10 — 70 
			 Newport West 10 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 90 
			 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 10 10 10 10 10 — 10 10 — 70 
			 Blaenau Gwent 10 10 — 10 10 10 — 10 10 70 
			 Caerphilly — 10 — 10 — 10 10 10 10 60 
			 Islwyn 10 10 — 10 — — — — 10 40 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. “—” means nil or negligible. Note table does not sum due to rounding. (2) ISLP sanctions are a reduction in the amount of IS the customer receives by an amount equal to 20% of the income support personal allowance. The benefit sanction remains in place until the lone parent attends and participates in a work focused interview. (3) Westminster parliamentary constituency: Westminster parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. Boundaries are as at the reference date. More information and a map can be found at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/maps/index.html Source: Income Support Lone Parents Sanctions Database.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average number of qualifying years of the women born between 1951 and 1953 who would be ineligible to receive the single-tier pension even though men of the same age would be eligible.

Steve Webb: The Department projects that the average (median) number of qualifying years to the basic state pension for women reaching state pension age in Great Britain between 2012 and 2015 is around 38.
	Source:
	DWP modelling based on PENSIM2.

Universal Credit

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will exempt families with an unemployed non-dependant aged under 25 years old from housing cost contributions following the introduction of universal credit.

Steve Webb: It is a long-established principle that someone living in a benefit claimant's home should be expected to contribute towards the rent. This principle will be carried forward into universal credit, although the system will be simpler and will provide improved work incentives. We are introducing a single flat rate of housing cost contribution which will apply, irrespective of income, to non-dependants aged 21 and over.
	While many non-dependants aged under the age of 21 are currently expected to make a contribution in housing benefits, under universal credit all will be exempt. For those aged 21 and over, a contribution will be expected only where the person is either in work or there is an expectation that they should be working/can return to work. A contribution will not be expected if the person is a carer, is responsible for a young child, or is in receipt of a specified disability benefit.

Universal Credit

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will exempt people who are (a) in receipt of employment and support allowance and (b) awaiting a work capability assessment from housing cost contributions under universal credit.

Steve Webb: It is a long-established principle that someone living in a benefit claimant's home should be expected to contribute towards the rent. This principle will be carried forward into universal credit, although the system will be simpler and will provide improved work incentives.
	Employment and support allowance does not of itself exempt a non-dependant from the contribution in housing benefit. This principle will be carried into universal credit.

Universal Credit: Brent

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the timetable is for the rollout of universal credit in the London borough of Brent.

Mark Hoban: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne) on 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 1052W.
	Universal credit will progressively roll-out in a carefully managed and controlled way from October 2013 with all those who are entitled to UC claiming the new benefit by 2017.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Jarrow of 4 June 2013, Official Report, columns 1103-4W, on work capability assessment, how many of the appeals against the work capability assessment have been upheld in (a) Corby, (b) Northamptonshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) East Anglia in each year since October 2008.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the outcomes of appeals heard against Fit for Work outcomes at initial work capability assessments (WCAs) for new employment and support allowance (ESA) claims that started between October 2008 and February 2012 (the latest data available), by the year that the claim started, for claimants in (a) Corby local authority area, (b) Northamptonshire, (c) east midlands and (d) East Anglia.
	
		
			 Outcomes of appeals heard against Fit for Work outcomes at initial WCAs for new ESA claims that started between October 2008 and February 2012 for (a) Corby local authority, (b) Northamptonshire, (c) east midlands and (d) East Anglia 
			  Corby LA Northamptonshire East midlands East Anglia 
			 Year of claim start Initial decision overturned Initial decision upheld Initial decision overturned Initial decision upheld Initial decision overturned Initial decision upheld Initial decision overturned Initial decision upheld 
			 2008 10 10 50 80 350 460 120 150 
			 2009 50 60 340 480 2,460 3,080 810 1,360 
			 2010 40 70 330 570 2,070 3,540 760 1,520 
			 2011 10 40 170 390 1,100 2,700 410 970 
			 2012 (1)— 10 10 50 40 240 20 60 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 100 190 910 1,570 6,030 10,030 2,120 4,060 
			 (1) Nil or negligible value Notes: 1. Rounding: All volumes are rounded to the nearest 10. Hence totals may not sum exactly. 2. Data for 2008 only include claims started between October and December, since ESA was introduced in October 2008. Data for 2012 only include claims started in January and February. 3. Information on appeals against repeat assessment, incapacity benefit reassessment and work related activity group outcomes are not included. 4. The volume of appeals heard and inferred to be on Fit for Work decision in each cohort are likely to alter over time and change is likely to be most marked in more recent cohorts. This is because of the length of time it takes to submit an appeal and have it heard by HMCTS. Source: Department for Work and Pensions benefit administration datasets

Work Capability Assessment: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the adequacy of training in myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome received by medical practitioners and assessors employed by Atos Healthcare to carry out work capability assessments.

Mark Hoban: DWP recognises Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) as a real and potentially significantly disabling condition. The assessment of individuals with CFS/ME or any other condition is not dependent on their classification but rather on the disabling effects of the condition.
	All health care professionals who undertake assessments on behalf of DWP are required to read an evidence based protocol on CFS/ME as part of their induction training. All health care professionals are required to engage in a programme of continuing medical education which includes modules on CFS.
	While the role of the examining health care professional is not to diagnose they are expected to elicit clinical signs relevant to a function assessment. Features such as pain, fatigue and repeatability of symptoms are all considered.

Work Capability Assessment: Lincolnshire

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in North East Lincolnshire have been assessed by Atos to date; how many of those assessed have been moved from disability living allowance to jobseeker's allowance; and how many appeals against those decisions have been made.

Esther McVey: Claimants are not moved from DLA to JSA. They are not linked benefits and therefore, no appeals can be made.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Empty Property

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the number of empty properties in England.

Don Foster: Annual statistics on total numbers of vacant dwellings and those vacant longer than six months in England and in each local authority district are published in the Department's live table 615, which is available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
	The number of long-term empty homes has already fallen by 20,000 between 2011 and 2012 and by over 40,800 since 2010. Ministers will keep the House updated with progress.

Fire Services

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 138W, on fire services, which procurement routes would permit a fire and rescue authority acting as a commissioner to not open up to competitive tender the services that would be delivered by a spun-out fire brigade public service mutual.

Brandon Lewis: Procurement routes would be a matter for the relevant fire and rescue authority to consider if they want to explore the option of a public service mutual.

Fire Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government has for future accountability arrangements for fire and rescue services; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: We are currently considering the findings of Sir Ken Knight's review of fire and rescue authorities ‘Facing the Future’, including those on accountability arrangements. The Government will respond later this year setting out our position.

Fires: Death

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the likelihood of death from a fire-related accident (a) at work and (b) at home.

Brandon Lewis: The Department has not made an assessment.
	Figures on the number of fire deaths in dwellings and in other buildings in England are published in the Fire Statistics Monitor:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/fire-statistics-monitor
	In England in 2011-12 there were 231 fire-related deaths in dwellings and 17 in other buildings.

Housing: Construction

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the size of new homes being built in England.

Don Foster: As part of the Housing Standards Review DCLG has commissioned independent research including an estimate of the average size of new dwellings. The results of this research will be published in due course.

Housing: Construction

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration he has made of the introduction of minimum standards in the provision of natural light in new homes.

Don Foster: The setting of natural light standards in new homes is one of a range of issues which has been considered by the housing standards review over the past nine months. A consultation document setting out the proposals will be published shortly.

Housing: Construction

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration he has made of the introduction of national minimum space standards for all new homes in England.

Don Foster: Space standards have been considered as part of the housing standards review and a consultation document will be published shortly setting out Government’s views.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what initiatives his Department has undertaken to use art to promote awareness of human trafficking.

Don Foster: My Department has not undertaken any specific initiative in relation to art and human trafficking.
	Notwithstanding, I refer the hon. Member to the Government's Human Trafficking Strategy which outlines the Government's broader actions to address this issue:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/97845/human-trafficking-strategy.pdf

Local Government Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when his Department plans to publish data for grants rolled in using tailored distributions for individual local authorities in 2014-15; what the indicative level of HIV/AIDS social care support funding will be for 2013-14; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: Grants rolled in using tailored distributions were set out for 2013-14 in the formula funding document that supported the 2013-14 local government finance settlement. The formula funding document is available on our website at:
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1314/calcffs.pdf
	Amounts rolled in for all tailored grants can be found in Key Table 3 in the supporting documents for the appropriate year's settlement on the same website. Formula grant and revenue support grant are unhypothecated block grants and it is therefore not possible to set out how much funding is provided for any particular service.

Local Government Finance

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of the Environmental, Cultural and Protective Services block is distributed using indicators of (a) social deprivation, (b) population density and (c) population sparsity.

Brandon Lewis: Indicators used in the Environmental, Cultural and Protective Services block for the 2013-14 settlement are set out from page 81 onwards of the formula funding document that supports the Local Government Finance Report. Both documents are available at:
	www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1314/settle.htm

Local Government: Conditions of Employment

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on how many people are employed on zero-hours contracts in each local authority in England.

Brandon Lewis: The Department does not hold any information on the use of zero-hours contracts in local authorities in England.

Parish Councils: Bank Services

Mel Stride: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to allow parish councils to make payments by electronic banking; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: I plan to make a statement on this subject before the House rises for the summer recess, explaining how we will take forward the proposals on which we consulted last year concerning the "two signature rule" for parish council payments.

Social Enterprises

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of his Department's suppliers are social enterprises.

Brandon Lewis: Departmental records show that six of my Department’s suppliers in 2012-13 were social enterprises.

Social Rented Housing: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of people who have fallen into arrears on social housing rent in (a) Barnsley East constituency and (b) Barnsley local authority area since April 2013.

Mark Prisk: This information is not held centrally.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Human Trafficking

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Attorney-General how many (a) attempted prosecutions and (b) convictions there were for human trafficking offences in 2012; what length of sentence was handed down to each person convicted; and what the value was of any assets seized.

Oliver Heald: The CPS maintains a record of human trafficking prosecutions by way of a database monitoring flag. A flag is applied at the onset of a case; and remains in place even if the charges are subsequently amended or dropped. The number of finalised defendant prosecutions, flagged as human trafficking prosecutions, for 2012 are as follows:
	
		
			  Number Rate (%) 
			 Convictions 103 69.6 
			 Unsuccessful 45 30.4 
			 All human trafficking prosecutions 148 — 
		
	
	In 2012, the CPS obtained confiscation orders to the value of £582,478.18 against offenders whose primary offence was human trafficking. The CPS does not hold any data relating to sentences imposed by the courts.

Legal Aid Scheme

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 480W, on the Legal Aid Scheme, how much the Government spent on (a) legal services, including those provided by in-house staff and (b) legal aid (i) in cash terms and (ii) at constant prices in each of the last 20 years.

Oliver Heald: The Ministry of Justice deals with legal aid spending. The Government do not keep central records of spending on legal services. However, data was collected, for the financial year 2009-10, as part of the Cabinet Office Back Office Benchmarking Analysis. This data showed that departments within the Government Legal Service (most central Whitehall Departments and the SFO) spent £340,707,128 on legal services, of which £319,550,727 was for technical legal services and £21,156,406 was for administrative support. Departments outside the Government Legal Service, including the CPS and SOCA, spent a total of £753,511,193, of which £510,858,712 was for technical legal services and £241,197,059 was for administrative support. These figures include:
	All employee costs for legal services (where legal staff are devolved in the organisation, include the total cost of those staff that spend more than 50% of their time on legal activities, unless the exact data is available);
	External legal services (solicitors, Counsel, Parliamentary Counsel, etc.);
	Training budget;
	Library/publications budget;
	Travel and subsistence budget;
	IT costs directly related to the legal function;
	Accommodation costs;
	Other costs, eg supplies and consumables.
	The figures exclude staff time or activities covered in other professions within this benchmarking (e.g. the cost of procurement advice over engaging legal support).

Legal Opinion

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 480W, on the Legal Aid Scheme, if he will consider limiting remuneration for prosecution lawyers or expert witnesses in criminal cases in which the defendant is on legal aid such that it does not pay fees or in-house salaries above legal aid rates to its own lawyers or expert witnesses and does not pay for more hours of legal services than would be allowed in a court's detailed assessment of costs for legal aid clients; and if he will estimate the cost savings which such a policy would deliver.

Oliver Heald: No realistic comparison between the roles of prosecution and defence can be made for these purposes. The amount of preparation and the burden of responsibility differs. As part of the programme of public spending savings, the CPS has absorbed a 28% reduction over the period 2010 to 2015, part of which has been passed on to the Bar by way of a reduction in fees paid overall.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for the Home Department and (b) the UK Border Agency on providing information and assistance to foreign and Commonwealth military personnel and their families with regard to visa applications; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: We have been in discussion with the Home Office on a regular basis about immigration matters relating to the armed forces and their families. A joint review by both Departments has recently been completed with the aim of aligning, where appropriate, the armed forces immigration rules with the family migration rules introduced by the Home Office last year. The review has recognised the unique circumstances of service life and has taken into account the Armed Forces Covenant principle of no disadvantage through service. The outcome of the joint review will be announced by the Home Office before the summer recess.
	For those armed forces personnel who wish to settle in the United Kingdom, as part of the delivery of covenant commitments, a process has recently been introduced by the Home Office which enables, where possible, settlement to be granted the day after discharge. This gives non-British personnel the right to live and work in the United Kingdom and access to public funds to which they are entitled.

Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) training and (b) guidance he makes available to Army welfare officers to (i) the immigration status, (ii) support for spouses and (iii) domestic violence relating to foreign and Commonwealth military personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The majority of immigration and nationality issues are a personal matter between individuals and the Home Office.
	As part of their training, Unit Welfare Officers receive a presentation about immigration and nationality matters and how they affect members of the British Army and their families. They are supported by Army policy which is available through internal instructions and publications, information hosted on internal and external web pages and quarterly welfare newsletters. Welfare Officers are required to refer complex casework up the chain of command to the Army Headquarters, where officials maintain a close link with the Home Office who are able to provide advice. Welfare Officers are not qualified immigration advisers, and concentrate on signposting individuals to the most appropriate source of help in a particular case.
	Support to spouses is provided regardless of nationality and spans the range of welfare issues faced by personnel including housing, finance and family matters. In addition to Welfare Officer training and Army guidance on these issues, spouses can independently seek advice from immigration advisers, legal professionals, the Army Families Federation or Service charities.
	Army welfare policy makes it clear that the British Army does not tolerate domestic abuse. This follows Tri-Service policy on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence. In the Army it is mandatory for Unit Welfare Officers to seek advice from the Army Welfare Service where domestic abuse is suspected or takes place, to ensure that appropriate action is taken.

Army: Redundancy

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers serving with the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers have taken voluntary redundancy packages since 2010.

Mark Francois: 31 personnel from 2nd battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers have been accepted as applicants for redundancy since 2010.
	Selections are based on performance, potential and wider employability. Wherever possible, applicants will be selected over non-applicants.

Army: Redundancy

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Second Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers have been issued with redundancy notices.

Mark Francois: 35 personnel from the 2nd battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers have been selected for redundancy since 2010; 31 of whom were applicants.
	Selections are based on performance, potential and wider employability. Wherever possible, applicants will be selected over non-applicants.

Billing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the potential financial benefits that could be achieved by paying suppliers early in return for rebates.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) keeps its approach to paying suppliers under review to ensure opportunities are seized for improving value for money in its contractual arrangements, including the use of e-purchasing to request discounts for prompt or early payment—a recent development. The MOD is a signatory to the Government's Prompt Payment Code and exceeds the Government's prompt payment stretch targets.

Buildings

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, other than buildings operated exclusively by the armed services, in each of the last three financial years.

Mark Francois: The total running costs for the buildings used by the Ministry of Defence in London in the last three financial years (FY) is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   £ million 
			   Running cost FY 
			 Name of building Details 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Man Building and Old War Office PFI set up in 2000 91.561 93.789 99.303 
			 St Georges Court PFI set up in 2000 12.085 12.248 8.640 
			 Cromwell House Leased since March 2010 1.512 2.782 2.707 
			 Royal College of Defence Studies, Seaford House Part of the Regional Prime Contract set up in 2005 0.194 0.194 0.194 
		
	
	The Department also acts on behalf of the following organisations:
	
		
			 £ million 
			   Running cost FY 
			 Name of building Details 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Civil Service Commissioner, Victoria Street Held under a licence since May 2008 0.085 0.105 0.127 
			 Government Actuary's Department, Finlaison House Held under a memorandum of terms of occupation since October 2008 0.810 0.826 0.842

Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the (a) effectiveness of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation's new competency based application process and (b) the effect of such a process on existing employees in the Organisation.

Mark Francois: The new competency based application process is not unique to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. It was rolled out across Government by the Cabinet Office starting in April 2013. It is therefore too soon to assess its effectiveness or effects.

Military Decorations: World War II

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons his Department decided to award a clasp rather than a medal to those who served in Bomber Command.

Mark Francois: In his independent Medal Review, Sir John Holmes concluded that Bomber Command veterans had been treated inconsistently with those who served in Fighter Command. The award of a clasp to Bomber Command air crew to be worn on existing medals is intended to bring this Command into line with Fighter Command aircrew who were awarded a Battle of Britain clasp to be worn on the 1939-45 Star.

MOD Ashchurch

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the potential sale value of the military site at Ashchurch; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: Details of any valuations obtained for the sale of Ashchurch can not be released. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

MOD Ashchurch

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the suitability for development of the Ashchurch military site and the possible presence of asbestos and unexploded ordnance; what the likely cost of clean-up of the site would be before it could be sold for development; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: In line with the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) policy, the site has been subjected to a land quality assessment and unexploded ordnance risk assessment in advance of any sale. The MOD has obtained cost estimates in respect of the clean-up of contamination including asbestos to facilitate the anticipated redevelopment of the land. These costs will be reflected in the sale value and as such are commercially sensitive at this time.
	As with the sale of any MOD land, the purchaser will be expected, in consultation with the local planning authority, to undertake the remediation necessary to make the land suitable for its intended use.

MOD Ashchurch

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the available space at Salisbury to potentially accommodate operations currently carried out at Ashchurch military site following the draw-down of forces from Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: No assessment or decision for relocating the activities at Ashchurch to Salisbury has been made.

Nuclear Weapons

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to ensure that Ministry of Defence personnel are on hand to provide advice to local emergency managers at the gold command level in the immediate aftermath of a radiation incident involving a truck cargo heavy duty nuclear weapons convoy.

Philip Dunne: In the unlikely event of an emergency, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Incident Commander, who travels with the convoy in his role as the senior MOD Police officer, would be on the scene immediately to direct events and to work with the emergency services. The Joint Regional Liaison Officer for that geographical area would deploy immediately to undertake the MOD liaison duties at the strategic response centre (GOLD). In addition, a team of 11 appropriately qualified MOD personnel, led by the MOD co-ordinating authority, would deploy to GOLD as soon as possible.

Nuclear Weapons

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to close out each of the findings and observations made by the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator in its assessment of Exercise Senator 2011.

Philip Dunne: The Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator's assessment concluded that Exercise Senator 2011 achieved its stated objectives. The assessment findings and observations are being addressed and have been prioritised within the wider programme for maintaining emergency plans.

Nuclear Weapons

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the future viability of UK defence policy if the costs of new nuclear weapons platforms developments were met wholly from his Department's budget.

Philip Dunne: Future spending rounds will set the Defence budget at a level that balances the Ministry of Defence's resources with its policy commitments.

Termination of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions (a) a compromise agreement, (b) a confidentiality clause and (c) judicial mediation was used when an employee of (i) his Department and (ii) the public bodies for which he is responsible left their employment in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The information is not held in the format requested. However, upon leaving the Department all staff are required to continue to adhere to the terms of the Official Secrets Act and the Business Appointments Rules for Civil Servants and the Armed Forces. The Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998 would apply in appropriate circumstances.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Action Fraud

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what oversight of Action Fraud is conducted by her Department.

Jeremy Browne: Action Fraud is part of the National Fraud Authority which is an Executive agency of the Home Office. The relationship between the National Fraud Authority and the Home Office is governed by a Framework Agreement which sets out the strategic objectives, responsibilities and lines of accountability of the National Fraud Authority to the Home Office.
	The permanent secretary, as the Home Office's principal accounting officer, holds the chief executive to account for the efficiency and effectiveness of the National Fraud Authority. The director general of crime and policing has been appointed by the permanent secretary to act as the departmental sponsor of the National Fraud Authority and a senior Home Office representative sits on the National Fraud Authority Management Board.

Animal Experiments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what regulations on the anaesthetising of live non-human embryos during medical experimentations are required to be observed by persons licensed by her Department to undertake scientific procedures on animals.

James Brokenshire: The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (as amended by SI 2012/3039), provides protection for live non-human embryos and the framework sets out the circumstances when anaesthesia or analgesia should be employed.
	For the purposes of the 1986 Act (as amended) a 'protected animal' is any living vertebrate other than man and any living cephalopod. Embryonic and foetal forms of mammals, birds and reptiles are protected during the last third of their gestation or incubation period. Embryonic and foetal forms are protected from an earlier stage of development if they are going to live beyond the last third of their gestation or incubation period and the procedure is likely to cause them pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm after they have developed to that stage.
	Standard project licence condition 17 set out in schedule 3, part 4, paragraph 17 of the 1986 Act (as amended) provides that all authorised procedures shall be carried out under general or local anaesthesia unless (a) anaesthesia would be more traumatic to the animal concerned than the procedures themselves; or (b) anaesthesia would be incompatible with the purposes of the procedures.
	Standard personal licence condition 9 set out in schedule 3, part 3, paragraph 9 of the 1986 Act (as amended) provides that the licence holder may apply a regulated procedure without the use of general or local anaesthesia only if the holder is satisfied that (a) the procedure would not inflict serious injuries capable of causing severe pain; and (b) the use of general or local anaesthesia would be more traumatic to the animal than the procedure itself or would frustrate the purposes of the procedure.

Animal Experiments

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many live animals have been used in scientific experiments in each year since 2006.

James Brokenshire: The most recent figures published by the Home Office show that there were 3.7 million animals used in scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2011. This compares with 2.9 million in 2006, 3.1 million in 2007, 3.6 million in 2008, 3.5 million in 2009 and 3.6 million in 2010.

Anti-Slavery Day

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her plans are to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2013.

Mark Harper: The Government will announce its plans in due course.

Arrest Warrants

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2013, Official Report, column 860W, on arrest warrants, if she will place a copy of the report submitted following HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary's review of SOCA's processes in the Library.

Mark Harper: A copy of the report was placed in the House Library on 20 June 2013.

COE Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of which provisions of the Council of Europe convention on action against trafficking in human beings are (a) being complied with and (b) not being complied with by the UK, by Government Department.

Mark Harper: The UK is fully compliant with the convention on action against trafficking in human beings. We regularly review the UK’s compliance in relation to our national and international obligations.

Domestic Violence: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic violence arrests have been made in Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Browne: The requested arrests data are not collected centrally.

Dual Nationality: Scotland

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Scottish Government requested any discussions with her Department to discuss the potential provision of dual nationality for Scottish citizens in the event of Scottish independence.

Mark Harper: There have been no such requests for discussions from the Scottish Government.

Entry Clearances: Israel

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many holders of Israeli passports entered the UK (a) as visitors, (b) as students, (c) to work and (d) for other reasons in 2012.

Mark Harper: The latest available statistics for Israeli nationals entering the UK relate to 2011 and appear in the following table:
	
		
			 Israeli nationals given leave to enter the United Kingdom by purpose of journey by main category, 2011 
			  Number 
			 Total 189,000 
			 Of which:  
			 Visitors 153,000 
			 Work 500 
			 Study 1,180 
			 Other 35,000 
			 Notes: 1. Data are provisional and relate to the number of journeys made. 2. Data of 1,000 or less are rounded to the nearest 5 (* = 1 or 2) and numbers greater than 1,000 are rounded to 3 significant figures. 3. Figures may not sum to the totals due to rounding. Source: Immigration Statistics, January to March 2013, Table ad_03 and ad_03_o 
		
	
	Passenger arrival data by nationality for 2012 are due to be published on 29 August 2013.
	The latest Home Office immigration statistics are published in the release Immigration Statistics January-March 2013, which is available from the Library of the House and on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

Entry Clearances: Israel

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many holders of Israeli passports entered the UK (a) with and (b) without a visa in 2012; and what proportion of such people are normally resident within (i) the 1967 borders of Israel and (ii) settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Mark Harper: The latest available statistics show that 189,000 journeys were made by Israeli nationals entering into the UK in 2011 (of which 153,000 were visitors, 13,600 were passengers in transit and 19,300 were passengers returning after a temporary absence abroad). It is not possible to say how many of these journeys were made with an entry clearance visa or where those persons were normally resident. There were a total of 847 entry clearance visas issued to Israelis in 2011, of which 74 were visit visas.
	The latest Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visas and admissions are published in the release Immigration Statistics January-March 2013, which is available from the Library of the House and on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
	Passenger arrival data by nationality for 2012 are due to be published on 29 August 2013.

Female Genital Mutilation

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has set up a national register of girls at risk of female genital mutilation.

Jeremy Browne: There is no national register for girls at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). If a child is found to be at risk of significant harm then a child protection plan should be put in place to ensure the child is safe. FGM is an extremely harmful practice and safeguarding professionals have a clear duty to protect children from the abuse.

Human Trafficking

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the obligations set out in the EU anti-human trafficking directive have been implemented; and when she plans to implement the others.

Mark Harper: The Government has fully implemented the EU directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims and we advised the European Commission of our position in April 2013.

Human Trafficking

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the consequences of moving her Department's human trafficking unit to the public risk unit; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: Moving the Human Trafficking Team to the Public Risk Unit demonstrates the importance the Government places on preventing people from becoming a victim of this crime. We also continue to strengthen our law enforcement response to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 900W, on human trafficking, which types of data are held by each authority; and whether this information is also centrally held.

Mark Harper: National Referral Mechanism data is centrally held and published quarterly on the SOCA website:
	http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics
	The Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group report, published in October 2012, also sets out this data. Authorities may hold additional information relevant to their business.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 900W, on human trafficking, which authorities were involved in each trafficking case.

Mark Harper: This information is not held centrally.

Human Trafficking

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the potential victims of trafficking referred to the National Referral Mechanism in 2012 (a) did not receive a reasonable grounds decision, (b) (i) did and (ii) did not receive a positive conclusive decision and (c) did not wish to proceed with their referral. [R]

Mark Harper: There were 1,186 referrals to the National Referral Mechanism in 2012. 19% received a negative reasonable grounds decision. 34% received a positive reasonable grounds decision, 11% received a negative conclusive grounds decision. 3% of applications were withdrawn.
	The National Referral Mechanism is a live document and is subject to change. The data provided here is from the National Referral Mechanism as of 1 April 2013.

Human Trafficking

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many potential (a) adult and (b) child victims of trafficking were referred to the National Referral Mechanism in 2012 by (i) police region, (ii) location of exploitation, (iii) nationality of victim, (iv) exploitation type and (v) gender. [R]

Mark Harper: National Referral Mechanism (NRM) data is published on a quarterly basis on the Serious Organised Crime Agency website. Provisional data has also been published for 2012. This includes nationality, exploitation type and gender.
	http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics
	NRM data records referring organisation. Where this is a police force this is shown in the published statistics. The following table shows the number of adults and minors referred to the NRM by police region from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.
	The data used is taken from the NRM as of 1 April 2013.
	
		
			 ACPO region/country of presentation Minors total Adult total Unknown Total 
			 East Midlands 7 10 0 17 
			 Eastern 20 40 0 60 
			 Isle of Man Constabulary 1 0 0 1 
			 London 102 184 0 286 
			 North East 21 102 0 123 
			 North West 20 58 0 78 
			 Northern Ireland 1 11 0 12 
			 Scotland 26 60 0 86 
		
	
	
		
			 South East 69 125 0 194 
			 South West 18 14 0 32 
			 Wales 10 16 0 26 
			 West Midlands 28 66 0 94 
			 Not recorded 49 127 1 177 
			 Total 372 813 1 1,186 
		
	
	NRM data routinely records the location of referral. Because of the nature of trafficking the location of referral may not be the same as the location of exploitation. Data on the location of exploitation is presented in the following tables. Where the number of individuals exploited at a location was less than five the breakdown is not disclosed, to avoid identifying the victim.
	
		
			 Location of exploitation Adults 
			 Albania 6 
			 Belgium 6 
			 Coventry 6 
			 Huddersfield 7 
			 Chichester 8 
			 France 9 
			 Portsmouth 9 
			 Maidstone 10 
			 Glasgow 12 
			 Greece 12 
			 Birmingham 13 
			 Manchester 14 
			 Various (at sea) 14 
			 Bradford 19 
			 Italy 27 
			 UK 38 
			 London 71 
			 Less than five at location 249 
			 Not known 283 
			 Total 813 
		
	
	
		
			 Location of exploitation Minors 
			 Manchester 5 
			 Oxford 6 
			 Bradford 8 
			 London 39 
			 Less than five at location 128 
			 Not known 187 
			 Total 373

Human Trafficking

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding is made available by the Government for non-governmental organisations other than the Salvation Army for fighting modern day slavery.

Mark Harper: In the 2012-13 financial year the Home Office awarded funding, of £74,000, in total, to three non-governmental organisations to undertake awareness raising and training activities on human trafficking issues with a diverse range of front-line professionals.
	The joint Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development managed Returns and Reintegration Funding can be used to support anti-trafficking activity as required.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office Posts have bilateral programme budgets to further achieve their objectives. These can be used to fund trafficking projects in priority source countries where trafficking objectives are included in the Posts' business plan.

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government plans to implement in full the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive.

Mark Harper: The Government has implemented the EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims. We advised the European Commission of our position in April 2013.

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to improve data collection on modern day slavery.

Mark Harper: High quality data is essential to support our understanding of, and response to human trafficking. The inter-departmental ministerial group on human trafficking (IDMG) identified data as a key area to strengthen in their first report, published in October 2012, and it continues to be a priority focus for the group.
	A number of Government, law enforcement and civil society representatives are taking forward work on data collection. An update on progress will be included in the IDMG annual report to be published in the autumn.

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to receive the Serious Organised Crime Agency and UK Human Trafficking Centre’s baseline assessment of the nature and scale of human trafficking in 2012.

Mark Harper: The UK Human Trafficking Centre’s baseline assessment on the nature and scale of human trafficking in 2012 is expected to be published in the summer.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place at (a) domestic, (b) EU and (c) international level to monitor the performance of the UK in implementation of conventions and legislation on human trafficking.

Mark Harper: The Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group is the UK's national rapporteur equivalent mechanism and oversees UK domestic legislation. The European Council and European Commission monitor the UK's compliance with European legislation, including the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the European directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims.
	The UK is also a signatory to a number of United Nations' and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions intended to drive down the exploitation of labour and sexual services. The Government routinely report on our performance against these measures to the relevant UN and ILO committees.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the use of video evidence from (a) children and (b) adults in the gathering and presentation of evidence in trials involving human trafficking.

Mark Harper: Video evidence is used as appropriate in trials involving human trafficking. No specific assessment has been made of its use. It is considered to be an effective way to maximise the quality of the complainant's evidence and relieve some of the stress associated with giving evidence for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including the victims of human trafficking.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of police officers dealing with those subject to human trafficking were (a) men and (b) women in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Harper: Data on the gender of police officers dealing with those subject to human trafficking are not collected.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what specific services are available for the child victims of human trafficking.

Mark Harper: Local authorities have well-established child support arrangements and a statutory duty under section 11 of the Children Act 2004 to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in need of protection, including trafficked children.
	In addition to a social worker and independent reviewing officer, a looked after child also has access to an independent advocate.
	Under these arrangements, looked after children are provided with support for all their needs including education, accommodation and health.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the three most frequent issues raised by advocacy groups of the victims of human trafficking were in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what steps her Department has taken to tackle those issues.

Mark Harper: Figures on issues raised by advocacy groups of victims of human trafficking are not available. However, currently the three issues most frequently raised with the Home Office by non-governmental organisations are: the provision of support for child victims; the appointment of a National Rapporteur or Anti-Slavery Commissioner; and non-prosecution of victims of human trafficking.
	The Government has taken the following actions.
	To improve our understanding of the experiences of child victims of trafficking in the care system and enhance practice in this area, the Government has awarded a grant to the Refugee Council and The Children's Society to undertake a joint independent scoping review on the practical care arrangements for trafficked children in care. The findings of the review will be published in the summer.
	The Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG) on Human Trafficking is the UK's National Rapporteur equivalent mechanism. The Government recognises the importance of effective critical assessment of the UK's efforts to tackle trafficking and will keep the role of the IDMG under review.
	The Government has provided guidance for prosecutors which sets out that, when reviewing a case in which there are suspicions that the suspect might be a victim of trafficking, they should obtain further information about the circumstances in which the suspect was apprehended. If new information or evidence supports the fact that the suspect has been trafficked and has committed the offence while in a coerced situation, there is a strong public interest to stop the prosecution. Where there is clear evidence that the suspect has a credible defence of duress, guidance states that the case should be discontinued on evidential grounds.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support her Department has sought from the An Garda Siochana in training for the purpose of tackling human trafficking.

Mark Harper: Co-operation on training takes places on a need specific basis. In November 2012, the UK Human Trafficking Centre and the European Police College ran a training course for EU police officers on the prevention of human trafficking. The course was attended by an officer from An Garda Siochana, who provided input on prevention in Ireland.
	An Garda Siochana is also regularly invited to attend regional representatives group meetings managed by the National Policing Lead for human trafficking. The meetings provide an opportunity for active input on awareness and training issues from An Garda Siochana.
	Responsibility for justice matters in Northern Ireland is devolved to the Northern Ireland Department of Justice, which is responsible for cross-border co-operation on human trafficking within that jurisdiction.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to adopt international best practice in tackling human trafficking.

Mark Harper: The Home Office regularly participates in European and international conferences intended to identify and share good practice in tackling human trafficking.
	The UK, through the UK Human Trafficking Centre, chairs the EU operational action plan forum on human trafficking. This involves engagement with a number of EU member states and agencies, primarily focused upon law enforcement co-operation. The UK is a significant contributor to new developments on international best practice as well as identifying good practice, which is shared through law enforcement networks in the UK.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what international agreements on human trafficking are in place to which the UK is a signatory.

Mark Harper: The UK is a signatory to the following international agreements on human trafficking:
	The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children;
	The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings;
	The EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims; and
	The EU strategy towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings 2012-16.
	The UK is also a signatory to a number of United Nations and International Labour Organisation Conventions intended to impact on the exploitation of labour and sexual services.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the 10 countries with the highest involvement in child trafficking in each of the last three years.

Mark Harper: An assessment of the nationality of children referred into the National Referral Mechanism was made in the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking report published in October 2012:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118116/human-trafficking-report.pdf
	National Referral Mechanism data from April 2009 are also published on the Serious Organised Crime Agency website:
	www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many child victims of human trafficking there were in each region in each of the last three years.

Mark Harper: Data on the number of child victims are not collected at regional level. Statistics on the number of child victims referred into the National Referral Mechanism by First Responders, including local authorities and police forces, from October 2011 are set out in the National Referral Mechanism statistics published on the Serious Organised Crime Agency website:
	www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics
	A breakdown of child victim referrals by First Responder is not available prior to October 2011.
	As set out in the first annual report of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, the Government is committed to developing the range of data collected by the UK Human Trafficking Centre to strengthen our understanding of this crime.

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the last inter-ministerial group meeting on human trafficking took place; and who attended that meeting.

Mark Harper: The Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking last met on 17 June 2013.
	A list of invitees and attendees is in the following table:
	
		
			 Meeting date: 17 June 2013 
			 Name Title 
			 Attendees  
			 Mark Harper MP Minister for Immigration (Chair) 
			 Oliver Heald QC MP Solicitor-General 
			 David Mundell MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland 
			 Baroness Randerson Wales Office, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 
			 Jo Swinson MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs 
			 David Ford MLA Minister of Justice, Northern Ireland Executive 
			 Liam Vernon UK Human Trafficking Centre 
			   
			 Apologies  
			 Helen Grant MP(1) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and the Courts and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities 
			 Kenny MacAskill MSP(1) Cabinet Secretary for Justice 
			 Lesley Griffiths AM(1) Minister for Local Government and Government Business 
			 Edward Timpson MP(1) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families 
			 Baroness Hanham CBE(1) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
			 Anna Soubry MP(1) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health 
			 Hugo Swire MP (1) Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
			 Lynne Featherstone MP(1) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development 
			 Mark Hoban MP(1) Minister of State for Employment, Department for Work and Pensions 
			 Jennie Granger Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs 
			 (1) Indicates where a Minister was represented by an official.

Immigration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many temporary migration cases were judged to be backlogged in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Harper: The number of temporary migration cases judged to be backlogged in each of the last 10 years is not available in the format requested and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the Home Office publishes figures on its performance against migration service standards on a quarterly basis as part of its commitment to transparency. These data are disaggregated by quarter and work stream and cover the period from April 2010 to March 2013. The latest figures are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/percentage-of-migration/

Immigration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) Tier 1 and (b) Tier 4 applications were processed on time by the UK Border Agency in each year for which data is available.

Mark Harper: The Home Office publishes figures on its performance against migration service standards on a quarterly basis as part of its commitment to transparency. Although these figures are not disaggregated by tier, they are broken down into work streams, with Tier 1 cases included in employment and Tier 4 in study. The data are also disaggregated by quarter and cover the period from April 2010 to March 2013.
	The latest figures are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/percentage-of-migration/

Immigration: Armed Forces

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration she has given to establishing a dedicated unit within the UK Border Agency to handle immigration inquiries and applications from foreign and Commonwealth military personnel and their families; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: We have considered whether to establish a dedicated unit within the Home Office to process applications from military personnel and their families as part of our ongoing commitment under the Armed Forces Covenant.
	Setting up such a unit would involve significant reorganisation as applications are currently processed according to the stage the case has reached in the immigration system: visa applications are largely dealt with overseas, postal applications for leave to remain are dealt with in Croydon or Sheffield, applications for settlement and naturalisation in Liverpool. We are not satisfied that dealing with all applications in a single place would be a more efficient way of processing the cases.
	A key priority for the new UK Visas and Immigration Directorate will be to deliver a high-volume service that makes high-quality decisions about who comes here, with a culture of customer satisfaction. This will apply equally to armed forces applications.
	Individuals may inquire about their applications using the Home Office public inquiry line.

Immigration: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many complex immigration cases relating to Northern Ireland were processed by her Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what the time taken to process each such case was;
	(2)  how many asylum legacy cases relating to (a) Northern Ireland and (b) North Down constituency were outstanding on 1 June 2013; what steps her Department is taking to reduce such figures; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: As of the week commencing 10 June 2013 there are 156 persons in the Asylum Live Legacy cohort with a Northern Ireland postcode, three of which are in the North Down constituency.
	The Older Live Cases Unit (formerly the Case Assurance and Audit Unit) will continue to manage the remaining live legacy cases. The Older Live Cases Unit is committed to reviewing these remaining legacy cases as quickly as possible.
	The Complex Casework Directorate deals with the following workstreams that are defined as ‘complex’:
	Pre-March 2007 asylum cases;
	Asylum Active review applications;
	Referrals for deprivation of citizenship where it was granted through deception;
	Referrals for revocation of indefinite leave where it was granted through deception;
	Referrals for cancellation of cessation of refugee status.
	We are not able to supply the management information requested as we do not hold such information in the form which would be required.
	By “asylum legacy cases”, we are referring to the pre-5 March 2007 asylum cases which remain outstanding from the residual Case Resolution Directorate (CRD) Asylum Legacy Cohort which is currently owned by the Older Live Cases Unit.
	Results are based on person ID rather than case reference ID in line with Older Live Cases Unit reporting.
	The information has been provided from local management information and has not been quality assured to the level of published National Statistics. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

Prostitution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations her Department has received on the relocation of web servers that promote prostitution to the UK from countries that ban such promotion.

Jeremy Browne: The Home Office has received no such representations.

Prostitution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the proportion of active prostitutes in the UK who are (a) UK nationals and (b) foreign nationals.

Jeremy Browne: The Home Office has made no formal assessment of the nationalities of prostitutes in the UK.
	The Government is committed to eradicating Violence Against Women and Girls. This includes protecting those involved in prostitution, who are particularly vulnerable. We are also committed to tackling the harm and exploitation to individuals, impact on communities, and links to organised crime, that can be associated with prostitution. Our focus is on harm-minimisation, including supporting those who wish to exit prostitution.

UK Human Trafficking Centre

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, columns 919-20W, on UK Human Trafficking Centre, if she will give the spending for (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 of the UK Human Trafficking Centre.

Mark Harper: Direct costs attributable to the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Cost (£ million) 
			 2010-11 1.48 
			 2011-12 1.85 
			 2012-13 1.67 
		
	
	These figures consists of pay costs and non-pay costs. It should be noted that the UKHTC is part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and draws on the wider expertise and resources of specialist teams within SOCA to support intelligence-led operational activity.
	It is not possible to include the costs of these in the above figures.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Redundant Churches

Rehman Chishti: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how many Church of England churches have been taken out of use for worship in each year since 2007.

Tony Baldry: The Church of England operates some 16,000 churches and places of worship across the country which are in regular use. During the period specified the Church of England has taken the decision to close the following number of churches for regular public worship under the Mission and Pastoral Measure each year since 2007:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2007 32 
			 2008 29 
			 2009 17 
			 2010 17 
			 2011 24 
			 2012 20 
		
	
	These figures include six schemes during the specified period which provided for replacement places of worship.
	More information about closed churches can be found on page 16 of the Church Commissioners Annual Report 2012 a copy of which will be placed in the Library.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if his Department will report emissions indicators on a consumption, rather than just a production, basis.

Gregory Barker: The Government has already committed to publishing emission estimates on a consumption basis. These estimates can be found on GOV.UK at the following web addresses:
	Publication:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uks-carbon-footprint
	Associated data:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/uk-carbon-footprint-1993-2010

Energy Companies Obligation

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he has taken to ensure that Ofgem is able to impose penalties on energy suppliers that have failed to meet their obligations to consumers under the Community Energy Saving Programme.

Gregory Barker: Enforcement and compliance under the Carbon Emissions Saving Programme (CESP) is entirely a matter for Ofgem as the statutorily appointed administrator for the scheme.
	Where an obligated energy company is found to have failed to comply with its obligations under CESP then Ofgem has a range of enforcement options open to it, under its existing powers to enforce companies’ compliance with their operating licences. This includes the power to impose a fine of up to 10% of a licensed company's turnover.

Energy Supply

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average level of debt was for customers disconnected by their (a) energy and (b) gas supplier in each of the last five years.

Michael Fallon: Ofgem does not publish data on what the average level of debt for customers disconnected by their electricity or gas supplier.

Energy: Finance

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 21W, on energy: finance, if he will list all financial transactions made by his Department to energy suppliers in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: Pursuant to the answer of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 21W, on energy: finance, a copy of the table listing the Department's financial transactions for the period 2009-10 to 2012-13 with RWE npower, EDF, SSE, Scottish Power, British Gas/Scottish Gas and E.ON will be placed in the Libraries of the House, It would incur disproportionate costs to list all energy suppliers as this would involve examination of transactions with a large number of suppliers to identify relevant services.
	Full information for 2008-09 is not held within DECC but by its legacy Departments, DEFRA and BIS.

Fracking

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish environmental and technical guidelines on fracking.

Michael Fallon: The Department for Communities and Local Government will produce technical planning guidance on shale gas by July 2013 to provide clarity around planning for shale gas during the important exploration phase for the industry. In addition, the Environment Agency intends to publish technical guidance on exploratory oil and gas operations, involving the use of hydraulic fracturing, for public consultation in the summer.

Green Deal Scheme

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the (a) monetary value and (b) number of grants awarded to households living in (i) social housing, (ii) private rented housing and (iii) privately-owned housing under the Green Deal scheme.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal is a market-based scheme, rather than a Government grant scheme. For information, the Department will publish, on 27 June, monthly and quarterly Official Statistics publications that will provide more information on the Green Deal.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, column 413W, on the Green Deal Scheme, when the second update on the number of Green Deal plans be published.

Gregory Barker: The second update on the number of Green Deal plans will be published in the Domestic Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation statistical monthly report on 18 July.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, column 413W, on the Green Deal Scheme, how many staff hours have been spent on producing the first quarterly Official Statistics on Green Deal and Energy Companies Obligation;
	(2)  how much the first quarterly Official Statistics on Green Deal and Energy Companies Obligation cost his Department to produce;
	(3)  how many staff have worked to produce the first quarterly Official Statistics on Green Deal and Energy Companies Obligation.

Gregory Barker: We do not separately record the time spent on producing individual Official Statistics reports. There is no cost associated with the production of the reports beyond staff time. The Green Deal and ECO statistical team has three team members, and has a range of functions beyond the production of Official Statistics reports. As with all statistical outputs, and in line with the statistics code, the head of profession for statistics is involved in the quality control of statistical outputs.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, column 413W, on the Green Deal Scheme, for what reason the report will only cover the period up to 31 March 2013.

Gregory Barker: The first Domestic Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation in Great Britain, Quarterly Report, will be published on the same day as the next monthly report on 27 June 2013. The monthly report will contain the most up to date statistics on Green Deal and ECO, whereas the quarterly report contains breakdowns of the information already released on Green Deal and ECO up to 31 March 2013.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the total likely cost to (a) the public purse and (b) energy consumers of direct and indirect subsidies for the construction of a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point C and its connection to the grid.

Michael Fallon: My officials are in negotiations with NNB Genco (a subsidiary of EDF) about the potential terms of an investment contract (an early form of contract for difference) that might enable them to make a final investment decision on their Hinkley Point C project. It would not be appropriate to comment on cost estimates given the commercially confidential nature of the negotiations, which remain ongoing.
	A contract will only be offered for Hinkley Point C if it is value for money, fair and affordable, in line with Government policy on public subsidy, and consistent with state aid. Should a contract be concluded, this will be laid before Parliament and published, alongside summaries of reports from external expert advisers and our value for money appraisal (which will include information on costs).

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what programmes and resources her Department provides for (a) the prevention of violence against women and girls and (b) services for survivors of violence against women and girls in Afghanistan.

Justine Greening: In March I announced that tackling violence against women and girls would be a strategic priority for DFID in Afghanistan.
	Support includes UK funding for the Tawanmandi programme—£19.95 million over five years—which helps Afghan civil society organisations take forward a range of projects, including some that focus on tackling violence against women and girls. The UK Government is also providing specialist training to provide the Afghan police and judiciary with skills and tools to curb violence against women. Alongside its programme work, the UK and other donors are working closely with the Afghan Government to ensure that the law on Elimination of Violence Against Women is fully implemented.

Afghanistan

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources her Department provides to support grassroots women's rights organisations working to prevent violence against women and girls in Afghanistan.

Justine Greening: To date, the UK's approach to the elimination of violence against women has primarily been through wider investments for gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls and protection of their rights.
	This includes support to the Tawanmandi programme, to strengthen civil society in Afghanistan. DFID is providing £19.95 million to fund this programme over five years until 2016. In the first two rounds of grant selection, 35 grants were awarded to organisations which either focus on women's rights or have women's rights as one of their main components.

Africa

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department has plans to support agricultural productivity in Africa through increased irrigation.

Lynne Featherstone: Irrigation infrastructure boosts agricultural productivity and DFID works with Governments and companies to leverage public and private investment into irrigation. The UK supports the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Plan which helps over 30 African Governments to improve their agriculture planning and to increase the amount of domestic resources invested in agriculture, including irrigation. On 8 June, the Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), announced that DFID will provide a further £50 million for the African Agriculture Development Company (AgDevCo) over the next five years. AgDevCo invests in early-stage agricultural SMEs and new agribusiness ventures that give smallholder farmers access to affordable modern inputs and irrigation and guarantee a market for their produce. DFID funding will benefit 650,000 people across Africa with jobs and income, improve access to irrigation and agro-processing infrastructure for 49,000 smallholder farmers and ensure that 30,000 additional hectares are under irrigation by 2018.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what bilateral expenditure her Department has spent in Bosnia-Herzegovina in each financial year since 2009-10; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The total DFID bilateral programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina was £2,379,000 in 2009-10 and £3,866,000 in 2010-11. There was no expenditure in 2011-12, as DFID ended its operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in February 2011.

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) her Department and (b) the non-departmental public body for which she is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: None.

Developing Countries: Education

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department is providing to the Global Campaign for Education's Every Child Needs a Teacher campaign; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID is a long-term supporter of the Global Campaign for Education's ‘Send My Friend to School' campaign, for which this year's theme is ‘Every Child Needs a Teacher'.
	On 14 June 2013, I visited children at Rhodes Avenue primary school as part of the campaign, to explain what the UK government is doing for children and teachers in poor countries.
	The UK has pledged to support, by 2014, at least nine million children in primary school and two million children in secondary school. We will also help to train 190,000 teachers to help improve the quality of education and children's learning.

Developing Countries: Females

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to contribute to the implementation of the UN High Level Panel's (a) stand-alone goal on empowering girls and women and achieving gender equality and (b) target to eliminate discrimination against women in political, social and economic life.

Justine Greening: The High Level Panel, co-chaired by the Prime Minister, has laid out a bold vision that we will want to see continued in the next two years of discussions. I will focus on building a strong international coalition with others to ensure that empowering girls and women and achieving gender equality is at the heart of the Post-2015 framework.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department has reduced budget support for health initiatives.

Alan Duncan: Details of the total expenditure on health are published in Statistics on International Development (SID) which is available in the House Library or online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/table-20-total-dfid-bilateral-and-gpex-expenditure-by-broad-sector-2007-08-2011-12

International Citizen Service

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people (a) applied to and (b) participated in the International Citizen Service programme in the last three years; and how many such people applied from addresses in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland.

Alan Duncan: The International Citizen Service was launched as a pilot in March 2011 and as a full three-year programme in March 2012. As of the end of May 2013, 12,228 people had applied to the scheme and 2,582 UK ICS volunteers had completed or were on their overseas placements.
	During the pilot, 4,699 people applied and 1,216 completed overseas placements. The regional data for pilot phase applications are not available, but the breakdown of successful applicants was 4.7% from Scotland, 91% from England, 2.6% from Wales, 0.8% from Northern Ireland, and 0.9% from UK Dependencies or data not available.
	As of 31 May 2013, 7,588 people had applied to the full scheme and 1,366 had either completed or were on their overseas placements. 5.4% of these applications were from Scotland, 89% from England, 3.5 % from Wales, 1.9% from Northern Ireland and 0.2% from other locations. The breakdown of successful applicants is 7.6% from Scotland, 87.4% from England, 3.6% from Wales, and 1.4% from Northern Ireland.
	The improvement of representation from across the UK was a specific objective of the full programme, based on learning from the pilot programme.

Overseas Aid

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's expenditure was spent on (a) aid and (b) trade development in developing countries in the last year for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone) on 17 June, Official Report, column 482W.

Syria

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support the Government is providing to Syrian women and children in refugee camps.

Justine Greening: The UK has provided £173 million to date, and at the G8 the Prime Minister announced a further £175 million has been committed, more than doubling our assistance to support those affected by the crisis in Syria and the region. Our support is targeted at some of the most vulnerable groups affected by the crisis, including women and children. For example, our support to UNICEF in Syria and the region is providing support to 15,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian children and their carers, such as specialist counselling and activities within child-friendly spaces, to help them be better prepared to cope with the situation they face as refugees. We are also providing education for 1,000 refugee children. UK support is also providing cash assistance for women refugees to help them pay rent. Pregnant women are particularly at risk and the UK is providing reproductive health services for nearly 6,000 refugee women. We will continue to ensure our new funding addresses the needs of vulnerable groups including women and children as we make new allocations over the coming weeks and months.

Termination of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions (a) a compromise agreement, (b) a confidentiality clause and (c) judicial mediation was used when an employee of (i) her Department and (ii) the public body for which she is responsible left their employment in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett), on 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 90W.
	There are no instances of employee departures under compromise agreements, or where confidentiality clauses have been used, in the public bodies for which DFID is responsible, during the periods covered by the question.
	There are no occasions where DFID, or the public bodies for which it is responsible, have used judicial mediation when an employee has left employment.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare: Dover Port

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of vehicles carrying live animals for export were inspected at the Port of Dover by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency in the latest period for which figures are available; what the average period of time taken is in such an inspection; and how such inspections are carried out.

David Heath: holding answer 19 June 2013
	There is likely to be a high number of live animal species exported through Dover. Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) does not hold comprehensive information on all vehicles carrying live animals that leave Dover port.
	In relation to exports of live animals destined for slaughter for human consumption, AHVLA has undertaken supervised loading inspections for all consignments that have been exported through Dover port since exports resumed there on 2 May this year. Supervised loadings are inspections undertaken by AHVLA at the beginning of the journey and are intended to ensure that animals are fit to travel, the vehicle is suitable for the intended journey, and the animals are transported in conditions that are compliant with Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport. There are no inspections conducted at the port. However, currently AHVLA does undertake precautionary checks at the port. These checks include a careful visual inspection of the animals for overt welfare problems and observations of the behaviour and demeanour of the animals for indications whether there is any evidence that the animals have become unfit for the intended journey between inspection at the supervised loading and their arrival at the port. There is no set period of time in which these checks need to be completed.

Antibiotics

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the UK did not provide data to the European Food Safety Authority for its European Union Summary Report on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria from humans, animals and food in 2011, published on 16 May 2013 for (a) E. coli, (b) campylobacter and (c) MRSA.

David Heath: The UK submits a national report on the trends and sources of zoonoses and zoonotic agents in the UK, including data on antimicrobial resistance in some zoonotic agents and commensal bacteria, to the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) each year. This data is included in the EU Summary Report on Antimicrobial Resistance.
	In addition, antimicrobial susceptibility testing of organisms, including E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, from clinical diagnostic material submitted to AHVLA regional laboratories provides ongoing national monitoring of resistance in veterinary pathogens.
	Regarding E. coli and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) the monitoring and reporting of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data from these organisms by member states is not an official requirement and is currently performed on a voluntary basis. The UK did provide data to EFSA for E. coli isolated from clinical diagnostic cases in 2011, which can be found in the national zoonoses country report for the UK and is indicated in the European Union Summary Report on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria from humans, animals and food in 2011. Both reports are available from the EFSA website.
	No specific surveys for antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter from animals were undertaken in 2011 and therefore no data was provided to EFSA for this period. Previously, however, the antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter isolates obtained from the intestinal contents of pigs and cattle after slaughter were monitored via abattoir surveys in 2003 and the results announced at a public meeting held at Stoneleigh. This followed a similar survey performed in 1999-2000. During 2008-09 a survey was conducted in broiler chickens to monitor resistance in Campylobacter and in E. coli, the results of which have been published in scientific journals and by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
	The requirement for member states to monitor zoonoses and zoonotic agents is set out in Council Directive (2003/99/EC), and EFSA recommendations indicate that if resources are limited sampling of each study population does not have to be applied each year. Representative sampling is resource intensive and historically specific surveys for AMR in Campylobacter have not been undertaken on an annual basis. However, the Government recognises the importance of monitoring AMR in bacteria that can affect human and animal health and will be adjusting its active monitoring programme for AMR in line with the revisions currently being made to the EU statutory requirements on harmonised monitoring under Commission Decision 2007/407/EC.

Bees

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the bee population of (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and what steps he is taking to preserve the bee population in Yorkshire.

David Heath: holding answer 20 June 2013
	I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave on 13 June 2013, Official Report, column 405W.
	Steps to support wild and managed bees across England include:
	Reviewing the health and value of bees and other pollinators and what we can do to benefit them.
	Implementing the Healthy Bees Plan and inspection and advice programme. In 2012, there were 29,873 colony inspections in England of which 2,706 were in Yorkshire.
	Supporting research through the Insect Pollinators Initiative and habitat management through our agri-environment schemes and our biodiversity strategy, “Biodiversity 2020”.
	It is not possible to estimate the size of the wild bee population at national or individual county level. In Great Britain, we do know that there has been an overall decline in the diversity of wild bees in recent decades(1) with some parts of the country showing an increase in diversity, but a significantly greater part showing a decline.
	There are no published data on the number of honey bees in Barnsley, South Yorkshire or England for the dates requested. However, the National Bee Unit has a voluntary database of beekeepers which has the following information recorded:
	(1) As measured by number of species per unit area.
	
		
			  Barnsley South Yorkshire England 
			  Beekeepers Colonies Beekeepers Colonies Beekeepers Colonies 
			 2010 n/a n/a 205 810 18,853 101,757 
			 2011 n/a n/a 248 1,155 22,674 113,813 
			 2012 (1)49 (1)334 310 1,223 24,933 120,644 
			 (1) Current figure, also includes 2013 registrations to date.

Bees: Pesticides

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department carried out an assessment of the potential effects on the UK bee and honey industry of the Government's opposition to an EU-wide ban on neonicotinoid pesticides.

David Heath: DEFRA has consistently approached this issue on the basis of the totality of the evidence. Our current assessment of the evidence suggests that while we cannot exclude rare effects of neonicotinoids on bees in the field, effects on bees do not occur under normal circumstances. Consequently, it supports the view that the risk to bee populations from neonicotinoids, as they are currently used, is low.
	We accept that the scientific evidence is not complete, particularly in respect of effects in the field. We have some research projects under way which should add to our knowledge in this area. We are currently considering what further work is needed to help produce a fuller evidence base.
	DEFRA agrees that it is appropriate to consider effects on honey production and pollination in considering the pros and cons of different options. In this case, we do not expect harm to bees to occur as a result of neonicotinoid use. The benefits of restrictions on neonicotinoids are therefore not significant.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the financial effects of tuberculosis in cattle to the farming industry.

David Heath: holding answer 15 May 2013
	The average cost of a TB breakdown on a farm is £34,000, of which around £12,000 falls to the farmer. This combined with the comprehensive testing programme and movement restrictions on TB affected herds can result in significant financial and emotional impacts on farmers.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the research conducted by the University of Warwick in developing a urine test for TB in badgers and cattle.

David Heath: Warwick university has carried out DEFRA funded research to develop a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) based test to detect the bacterium that causes bovine TB in soil samples and faecal samples collected from badger latrines. While the test performs well at identifying spiked samples in the laboratory and is reproducible, so far it has been less sensitive at detecting known infected social groups from faecal samples collected in the field. Warwick is currently leading on DEFRA funded research to optimise the sampling regime to improve the performance of the test in the field, which the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs discussed with the group on a visit to Warwick in January. This work is due to report later this year.
	DEFRA is funding a number of other research projects to develop alternative methods for the improved diagnosis of bovine TB in badgers, which were considered at an AHVLA hosted expert workshop in April. All of the methods currently under development have scientific merit but practicality and costs of the tests may ultimately determine how many tests are taken forward.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department plans to test for tuberculosis in badgers that have been culled.

David Heath: There are no plans to test badgers culled for infection with M. bovis. This was one of the elements investigated during the randomised badger culling trial, giving us evidence on the typical prevalence of TB in badgers in areas of high TB incidence, and will not be repeated during the pilots.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when he will receive the results of the evaluation of the pilot badger cull;
	(2)  if he will report to Parliament after the pilot badger cull is complete and an evaluation of its effectiveness has been carried out.

David Heath: After culling in the pilot areas has finished in 2013, the results will be evaluated and a decision taken on wider roll-out. This decision is expected to be made in early 2014 and will be reported to Parliament.

Capita

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Capita; and how much was spent in each year since 2008.

Richard Benyon: This table sets out spend by core DEFRA with Capita in each financial year from 2008-09 up to 31 May 2013 in the current year:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2008-09 735,216.21 
			 2009-10 926,264.12 
			 2010-11 414,721.48 
			 2011-12 25,327.02 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-13 332,357.96 
			 2013-14 to 31 May 21,155.42

Common Fisheries Policy

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much each EU member has contributed to the Common Fisheries Policy in each of the last five years; and how much each contributing member has received through this policy in that time.

Richard Benyon: Member states contribute to the overall EU budget (the Multi-Annual Financial Framework) rather than to individual budget lines or programmes, such as the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) or common fisheries policy (CFP).
	Details of how much each member state has received from the EFF (the financial instrument of the CFP) over the last five years can be found on the Europa website:
	http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/documentation/publications/cfp_factsheets/european_fisheries_fund_en.pdf

Common Fisheries Policy

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the revised Common Fisheries Policy is to be financed; and what the scale of contribution from each EU member state will be.

Richard Benyon: Much of the cost of the practical operation of the common fisheries policy (CFP) will continue to be borne by individual member states within their respective jurisdictions. In the case of the UK, many elements of fisheries management are devolved and therefore funded by devolved Administrations.
	Some parts of the CFP are funded by the EU budget, such as the EU contribution to the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Fisheries Partnership Agreements with developing countries. Member states contribute to the EU budget as a whole and not to individual parts of it.

Common Fisheries Policy

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the purchase of fishing rights from third party nations is permitted under the new common fisheries policy settlement.

Richard Benyon: Under the common fisheries policy the European Union may enter into fisheries partnership agreements with third party countries to provide access for EU vessels to fisheries resources in their waters.
	As part of the reforms we have secured to the common fisheries policy, fishing agreements with third party countries must deliver increased value for money for the taxpayer and be based on sound science and monitoring, with clauses on respect for human rights.

Dangerous Dogs

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if his Department will bring forward legislative proposals to allow the prosecution of owners of dogs that attack other animals.

David Heath: There is already legislation in place relating to dogs that attack other animals. For example, under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 it is an offence to cause an animal unnecessary suffering. The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine of £20,000 or six months imprisonment, or both. It would be for the courts to decide whether an owner is culpable if their dog attacks another animal, based on the individual merits of the case.

Dogs: Injuries

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people required admission to hospital as a result of injuries caused by dogs in 2012-13.

David Heath: Figures for April 2012-March 2013 will not be available until August 2013. However provisional figures for the 11 month period April 2012 to February 2013 are available now and show 5,793 hospital admissions as a result of injuries caused by dogs. This compares with 6,053 for the same period in 2011-12 and 6,580 for the full year 2011-12.

Fisheries Regional Advisory Councils

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the running costs of each of the regional advisory councils covering UK waters will be met.

Richard Benyon: Article 32 of EU regulation 2371/2002 set out the procedure for the establishment of Regional Advisory Councils (RACs). The EU contributes to the operating costs of each RAC as bodies pursuing an aim of general European interest. The annual EU grants are allocated according to the arrangements set out in Council Decision 2004/585/EC. The EU grant does not exceed 90% of the operating budget of a RAC, and complete funding for each RAC is therefore met by a combination of the EU grant and annual fees from members of each RAC and relevant member states.
	The UK directly contributes its share in the form of annual fees paid to the North Sea RAC, North Western Waters RAC, Long Distance RAC and the Pelagic RAC.

Fishing Catches

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total value of catch taken by (a) UK-registered vessels and (b) non-UK-registered vessels in UK territorial waters as defined in the Fishery Limits Act 1976 was in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: Information on the value of the fish caught in UK territorial waters is not readily available. UK vessels are not required to report their activity on this basis, and as such it could only be estimated with associated scope for inaccuracy.
	Similar information for non-UK vessels could only be obtained by contacting the individual member states that fish within the UK's fisheries limit. Information is only readily available on the totals for the sea areas involved, and only for quantities of fish involved rather than value.

Floods: Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in which parliamentary constituencies over 50 households have been flooded in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: This information is not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Food: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 789W on exports: EU countries, what the (a) value and (b) proportions of UK food exports to (i) the EU and (ii) EU free trade areas was in each of the last three years.

David Heath: The value and proportions of UK exports of food, feed and drink to the EU and the countries with which the EU had a free trade agreement (FTA), economic partnership agreement, association agreement or customs union which was in force by March 2013 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   2009 2010 2011 2012 (provisional) 
			 Exports to EU Value (£ billion) 9.5 10.4 11.5 11.2 
			  Proportion of total UK exports (percentage) 68 66 64 62 
			       
			 Exports to FTA countries Value (£ billion) 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.4 
			  Proportion of total UK exports (percentage) 7 8 8 8 
			 Notes: 1. 2012 data is subject to amendments. 2. EU data is based on EU 27. 3. The 28 EU trade agreements that were in force by March 2013 were with the following countries: Peru, South Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Chile, Andorra, San Marino, Turkey, Faroe Islands, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Southern Mediterranean agreement (with Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority and Tunisia), Cariforum EPA (with Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago), Pacific EPA (Papua New Guinea) and Eastern and Southern Africa EPA (with Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe). 4. The figures do not include UK exports to those countries with which negotiations have been finished but where a trade agreement was not yet in force by March 2013 (such as Singapore, Colombia, the Central American nations (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama), Ukraine and the five EPAs that have yet to enter into force). Nor does it include those countries where trade negotiations are currently underway or where the EU is seeking a negotiating mandate (such as Mercosur, GCC, India, Japan, various members of ASEAN, Canada and the USA). Source: HM Revenue and Customs.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the GM industry on his policy on granting approval for the planting of genetically modified crops;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with (a) Monsanto, (b) Bayer and (c) BASF on his policy on granting approval for the planting of genetically modified crops;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with (a) Rothamsted Research, (b) the John Innes Centre and (c) the Institute of Food Research on his policy on granting approval for the planting of genetically modified crops;
	(4)  what recent discussions he has had with scientists sceptical about the planting of genetically modified crops.

David Heath: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), has not had any recent discussions with the GM industry, including Monsanto, Bayer and BASF. DEFRA Ministers and officials do however periodically discuss this important issue with a wide range of interested parties. The Government has a science-led policy which recognises that the responsible use of GM crops could provide economic, environmental and other benefits. It will support the planting of GM crops if they pass a robust case-by-case safety assessment.

Guide Dogs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to collect information on the number of incidents of guide dogs being attacked by other dogs; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: Such details are already recorded by the Guide Dogs charity and so I see no need for central Government to record details of dog attacks on assistance dogs.

Horses: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many horses have been certified for export from the UK since 1 January 2012; and how many such horses were exported for slaughter.

David Heath: Between 1 January 2012 and 31 May 2013, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Agency issued health certification for 13,754 horses that were exported from Great Britain. This figure will include some cases where horses travel to a third country via an EU member state and require two certificates.
	Any horses being legally exported for slaughter in the EU (including France as the Tripartite Agreement does not cover slaughter animals) must be in possession of a valid Intra Trade Animal Health Certificate (ITAHC). The ITAHC specifies that the animal is being exported for slaughter.
	Since 1 January 2012 we have issued no ITAHCs for the slaughter of horses.

Hydrofluorocarbons

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the provisions and structures that would be required to be in place in order for the Government to support a ban on hydrofluorocarbons with a global warming potential rating above 150 in new refrigeration equipment in (a) large supermarket systems and (b) large industrial systems.

Richard Benyon: Bans on the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) should be considered carefully on a case-by-case basis. Support for any specific ban would depend on the date it took effect, taking into account the availability and technical feasibility of alternatives, together with the financial and environmental costs, and the benefits of replacing HFC refrigerants across the range of systems concerned.
	Bans should not be technically prescriptive and should promote the development and uptake of alternatives. Bans are feasible in principle, either where suitable alternatives are available across the range of applications in the sectors affected or where sufficient time is allowed for the development, commercial availability and maturity of alternatives to replace HFCs in new equipment. Bans should also result in lower overall greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account factors such as indirect emissions from energy use.

Imports: Turtles

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assurances his Department sought from Merlin Entertainments Group as to the purpose of the Chelonioidea sea turtles bought from Cayman Turtle Farm in 2006.

Richard Benyon: There are no restrictions on the purpose of importation of captive-bred specimens of species listed on Annex A of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations, such as green turtles (Chelonia mydas). As such, when an import application is being considered under the Convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES), it is not necessary to seek an assurance about purpose from the applicant beyond that stated in the application.
	Where the specimen subject to an import application has been captive-bred, the UK CITES management authority responsible for issuing CITES documentation (the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency) must be satisfied that the specimen complies with chapter XIII of European Commission Regulation (EC) No. 865/2006. This determination is informed by advice from the UK's Scientific Authority for fauna, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
	The provisions of the Data, Protection Act 1998 prevent the disclosure of information in relation to specific import applications.

Landfill: Medway

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much waste originating in Medway was sent to landfill in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what proportion of waste from Medway ended up in landfill in each of the last five years.

Richard Benyon: The amount of waste originating in Medway sent to landfill in each of the last five years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Thousand tonnes 
			 2007-08 90.5 
			 2008-09 81.5 
			 2009-10 81.6 
			 2010-11 64.0 
			 2011-12 29.8 
		
	
	The proportion of waste from Medway that was sent to landfill in each of the last five years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 2007-08 65 
			 2008-09 63 
			 2009-10 64 
			 2010-11 50 
			 2011-12 24

Legal Costs

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the 20 highest amounts paid for external legal advice by his Department were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; to whom such payments were paid; and for what reasons the legal advice was sought;
	(2)  how much his Department spent on external legal advice from Queen's Counsel (a) between 7 May 2010 and 4 September 2012 and (b) since 4 September 2012;
	(3)  how much his Department spent on external legal advice (a) between 7 May 2010 and 4 September 2012 and (b) since 4 September 2012;
	(4)  what the highest day rate paid for external legal advice by his Department since 7 May 2010 was.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA's spend on external legal advice is as follows. It is not possible to provide more detail without incurring disproportionate costs.
	Payments to the Treasury Solicitors Department (TSol), parliamentary counsel and agency lawyers are not included. In compliance with the Government's Transparency Agenda, DEFRA publishes information on all payments over £25,000 at
	www.data.gov.uk/dataset/financial-transactions-data-defra
	TSol publishes the standard hourly rates and details for external counsel on its website at
	www.tsol.gov.uk/attorney_generals_panel_of_counsel.htm
	
		
			 External legal advice(1) 
			 £000 
			  Between 7 May 2010 and 4 September 2012 Since 4 September 2012 to 31 March 2013 
			 Legal fees paid(2) 1,326 333 
			 Payments to QCs(3) 84 40 
			 (1) The figures include representation in court for example as well as 'advice'. (2) Some payments relating to DEFRA arm’s length bodies may be included. (3) This is all payments where finance systems identify the payee as a QC. This is not always specified so the information may not be complete. This data range extends back to 1 April 2010.

Livestock

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government will take to ensure that purchasers are not penalised when livestock they bought with the necessary food chain declarations later tests positive for residue.

David Heath: holding answer 5 June 2013
	EU legislation requires that animals and animal products entering the food chain do not contain unauthorised substances and that residues of authorised veterinary medicinal products are within permitted limits. Domestic legislation places responsibility for ensuring that residues are within permitted limits upon the person that sells or supplies the animal for slaughter for human consumption (Regulation 9 of Statutory Instrument 1997 No. 1729). This has been put in place to enforce the EU regulation and protect consumers.
	European legislation covering the payment of common agricultural policy (CAP) subsidies requires farmers claiming payments to comply with a range of public, animal and plant health, environment and welfare requirements collectively known as ‘cross compliance’. Residues legislation comes within the scope of cross compliance through Statutory Management Requirement 11 (food and feed law). Where a farmer is considered liable for a breach of the residues rules, cross compliance rules require a percentage reduction to be applied to the payments claimed.
	Purchasers should ensure they have the appropriate assurances from their suppliers that animals they are sending to slaughter for human consumption are within the required maximum residue levels for authorised veterinary medicines and do not contain unauthorised substances.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  who the members were of the (a) Committee on Agricultural Valuation, (b) Consumer Council for Water, (c) Environment Agency, (d) Food from Britain, (e) Gangmasters Licensing Authority, (f) Independent Agricultural Appeals Panel, (g) Inland Waterways Advisory Council, (h) Joint Nature Conservation Committee and (i) Marine Management Organisation on 1 January 2013; and what the (i) term of office and (ii) remuneration is of each such member;
	(2)  who the members were of the (a) Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances, (b) Advisory Committee on Pesticides, (c) Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, (d) Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees, (e)  Agriculture Wages Board for England and Wales, (f) Agricultural Wages Committees, (g) Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, (h) Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and (i) Commission for Rural Communities were on 1 January 2013; and what the (i) term of office and (ii) remuneration is of each such member.

Richard Benyon: The information requested has been placed in the Library, except for the following:
	(a) Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances, was abolished on 22 July 2012,
	(b) Committee on Agricultural Valuation no longer operates,
	(c) Food from Britain was closed on 31 March 2009,
	(d) Inland Waterways Advisory Council was abolished on 2 July 2012.

Pigmeat

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what reports he has received of pig products entering the UK from other European nations which have not been produced in accordance with the EU law on pig and animal welfare;
	(2)  whether his Department works with the Home Office to allocate resources to prevent pig products produced to animal welfare standards which do not comply with European law from entering the UK.

David Heath: We have not received any reports of pig products being imported from other member states which have been produced in systems that are not compliant with EU animal welfare rules.
	Enforcement of imported pigmeat is challenging. There are no marketing rules to prevent imports of pork and pork products from non-compliant production systems. Member states cannot impose unilateral trade restrictions for welfare reasons. We have to rely heavily on the competent authority in each member state to take responsibility for ensuring that their producers comply with the EU pig welfare directive. We have and continue to use every opportunity to press for rapid compliance' in other member states, as the priority must be to protect those pig producers across the EU who have invested heavily in converting to more welfare-friendly group housing systems from illegal production. The European Commission is taking action against member states which are not delivering on their animal welfare obligations.
	I have also met twice with representatives of the whole pig supply chain to ensure that they have stringent traceability tests in place to ensure that they only source pigmeat from compliant production systems. They have assured me that they will use their best endeavours as there is clearly a significant reputation issue for their companies or trade associations.
	The National Pig Association is currently carrying out an exercise to check whether pork from non-compliant farms in other member states is entering the British food chain, by asking companies to carry out a full traceability test to confirm that their products are from legal production systems.

Pigs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with European Commissioners on welfare and husbandry conditions for pigs in other EU member states.

David Heath: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), and I met with Tonio Borg, Commissioner for Health and Consumer policy on 17 January 2013 and raised our concerns about the large scale non-compliance across the EU with the partial sow stall ban, which came into force on 1 January 2013. This issue was also discussed at the January Agriculture Council of Ministers. The Secretary of State, following up correspondence earlier in the year, wrote to Commissioner Borg in May, seeking a progress report on infringement proceedings against non-compliant member states and urging swift and full compliance as quickly as possible.
	We are using every opportunity to press the Commission to take a firm stand as the priority must be to protect those producers across the whole of the EU who have invested heavily in converting to more welfare-friendly group housing systems from illegal production.

Polyisobutene

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the International Maritime Organisation on reviewing the Marpol Convention with regard to discharge of polyisobutene from ships in early 2013.

Stephen Hammond: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Transport.
	Officials have had initial, informal discussions with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretariat on the classification of Polyisobutylene (PIB) following the recent incidents on the South Coast. Investigations are ongoing and once the reasons for the incidents are established, we will if appropriate formally approach the IMO to review the carriage requirements for Polyisobutylene.

Reservoirs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he received the draft reservoir safety guidance from the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Richard Benyon: The Institution of Civil Engineers is undertaking a revision of the Guidance and we expect that it will be published shortly after the secondary legislation comes into force in the summer.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of public consultation Natural England undertakes when proposing changes to the appearance of a site of special scientific interest.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 19 June 2013
	There is no statutory requirement on Natural England to undertake public consultation over the appearance of a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). The appearance of a site is mainly determined by its management plan, which is primarily a matter for Natural England to agree with those who manage the land within an SSSI. However, consultation may take place if:
	management proposals require permissions from other agencies, for example local authority planning permission; or
	the SSSI manager is a public body which has a policy of public consultation over how its land is managed. This includes Natural England with respect to national nature reserves it manages, where public consultation is part of the management planning process for each site.

Slaughterhouses: France

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he takes to ascertain whether animals exported to France for slaughter are stunned before slaughter as required by the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1099/2009, except where the meat is destined for one of the religious communities; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: There are no requirements under EU or national welfare legislation to ascertain whether animals exported to other EU member states are stunned before slaughter.
	EU Regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing came into effect on 1 January 2013 in all member states. Under that regulation animals shall only be killed after stunning except for animals who are subject to religious slaughter. The Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) section of the EU Commission regularly audits official controls in slaughterhouses in each member state. Where non-compliance is discovered, they will recommend the necessary changes and will follow-up these recommendations to ensure that the necessary action is taken to improve standards.

Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on ministerial travel by (a) Government Car Service, (b) private hire vehicles, (c) taxis, (d) rail, (e) aviation and (f) other means in each year of the current Parliament.

Richard Benyon: Information on ministerial overseas travel can be found at the following webpage, which is updated quarterly in accordance with the civil service's commitment to transparency:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/who/ministers/transparency/
	Information on ministerial domestic travel is not held in a format easily retrievable and therefore would incur disproportionate costs to investigate and differentiate from the rest of the Department.

Turtles: Cayman Islands

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice his Department has received on the ability of the UK to accept products from the Cayman Turtle Farm whilst complying with CITES regulations.

Richard Benyon: Responsibility for ensuring compliance with the relevant rules that implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lies with the UK CITES Management Authority, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). This involves following a set of procedures laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 865/2006.
	As part of these procedures AHVLA seeks advice from the UK's Scientific Authority for fauna, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), on applications to import specimens of CITES-listed species, such as turtles. The advice given by JNCC on import permit applications includes whether the import would have a harmful effect on the conservation status of the species in the wild and whether there are any other factors that would militate against the issuance of a permit. Further details can be found in Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97. The advice given is case-specific and disclosure is prohibited by the Data Protection Act 1998.
	Any imports from the Cayman Turtle Farm would need to comply with CITES regulations.

Tyres: Waste Disposal

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many waste tyres were recycled in the UK in the last five years;
	(2)  how many waste tyres were exported from the UK for disposal and recycling in the last five years.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 19 June 2013
	Information on the treatment of waste tyres, including recycling and exports, is collated by the Used Tyre Working Group. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) provides the Secretariat for this group and has provided the following data:
	
		
			 Tonnes 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Arisings 504,008 497,710 503,035 527,369 516,294 
			 Re-use(1) 71,887 87,531 37,839 42,115 37,896 
			 Re-tread 55,559 47,436 46,793 51,721 44,192 
			 Materials recovery 175,000 162,202 162,200 169,725 187,143 
			 Landfill engineering 81,000 50,227 82,000 87,651 24,394 
			 Energy Recovery 93,000 119,131 114,620 98,765 156,768 
			 Exports 16,652 13,032 27,826 31,824 33,077 
			 Other(2) 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 
			 (1 )2007 and 2008 reuse figures are not directly comparable with 2009 to 2011. (2) Assumptions (use in silage clamps, docksides, etc). 
		
	
	Data for 2012 are not yet available.

Water Bill (Draft): Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations his Department has received from the Welsh Government on the draft Water Bill.

Richard Benyon: Since the publication of the draft Water Bill in July 2012, we have continued to work closely with the Welsh Government in order to develop the Water Bill. We are continuing to finalise the Bill and have regular contact at both ministerial and official level as part of the governance arrangements in place.

Wildlife: Smuggling

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what actions to combat the trade in illegal wildlife were decided upon at the governmental meeting hosted by HRH the Prince of Wales on 21 May 2013.

Richard Benyon: At the meeting co-hosted by HRH the Prince of Wales and the Government on 21 May 2013, it was agreed that there is an urgent need to demonstrate global leadership and strengthen international co-ordination to bring about a step change in the effort and resources applied to combat illegal wildlife trade.
	Participants recognised the need for the highest level of political leadership on this issue and the need for co-ordinated action on: law enforcement and criminal justice issues; demand reduction; and supporting the development of alternative livelihoods in affected communities. As such, the problem of illegal wildlife trafficking needs to be recognised by governments at the highest levels, not just as an environmental issue but as an essential part of ensuring national and international security and stability. The Government will host a high level meeting in late autumn to secure Government-wide and international commitment at the highest level to combat illegal wildlife trade.

TREASURY

Accountancy

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in his Department are currently seconded to any of the four largest accountancy firms; and what the (a) job title and (b) pay grade is of each such secondee.

Sajid Javid: No HM Treasury officials are currently seconded to any of the four largest accountancy firms.

Air Passenger Duty

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential effects of increases in the level of air passenger duty on the number of airline routes operating from the UK;
	(2)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of air passenger duty on businesses in the UK;
	(3)  if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of limiting the standard rate of air passenger duty to business or first class tickets only.

Sajid Javid: The Treasury keeps all taxes under review and considers their effects in the round. The Government has limited the rise in air passenger duty (APD) to inflation over the period 2010-11 to 2012-13. Budget 2013 set out rates from April 2014, which will also only rise in line with inflation, ensuring that level of APD will again remain constant in real terms.
	Changes to the class of travel definition in APD were considered as part of the consultation launched at Budget 2011. The Government's response, published on 6 December 2011, outlined that no changes to the class of travel distinction would be made.

Child Benefit

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent in total on child benefit for families with (a) one, (b) two and (c) three or more children in the last year for which figures are available.

Sajid Javid: Estimates of the amount of child benefit paid in respect of one child, two child and three or more child families are shown in the following table for each of the last three fiscal years.
	The exact amount spent on these families will not be strictly equal to this, as this calculation assumes all families have exactly the same circumstances throughout the year, which in reality will not be the case for all. For this reason estimates have been rounded to the nearest £100 million.
	
		
			  One child Two children Three or more children Total 
			 2012-13 5.8 4.5 1.9 12.2 
			 2011-12 5.7 4.5 1.9 12.2 
			 2010-11 5.7 4.6 1.9 12.2 
			 Note: Numbers presented are in billions and may not sum due to rounding. 
		
	
	These estimates are derived by taking the proportion of one, two and three+ child families from the August publication in each year and applying these proportions to the final expenditure figure for that fiscal year.

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies do not employ any staff on zero-hour contracts.

Corporation Tax

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the amount of corporation tax (a) News International, (b) Google, (c) Amazon, (d) Starbucks, (e) Microsoft and (f) Apple would pay if they paid tax on all their earnings in the UK.

David Gauke: The Government has made no such estimate.
	HMRC ensures that all companies pay the tax that is due under the law.

Corporation Tax: Energy

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with Ofgem on the level of corporation tax paid by energy companies that (a) receive and (b) do not receive subsidies from the public purse;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the level of corporation tax paid by energy companies that (a) receive and (b) do not receive subsidies from the public purse.

David Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials engage with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, both meeting and receiving correspondence from stakeholders, as well as their ministerial colleagues, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations. This is available online at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Inheritance Tax

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of any Barnett consequentials which will accrue to each of the devolved administrations due to planned changes in inheritance tax.

Danny Alexander: As set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, the Barnett formula is only applied to changes in the level of departmental spending. Any changes to the level of taxation do not automatically generate Barnett consequentials.

Insolvency

Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax revenue has been lost to HM Revenue and Customs as a result of businesses going into administration or liquidation in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: Total HMRC write offs (covering businesses and individuals) are set out in the following table.
	Debt owed to HMRC can be written off for a variety of reasons, including insolvency. The table shows the amount of debt that HMRC wrote off over the last five years although, due to changes in the reporting, comparing more recent years to data before April 10 may not be accurate.
	Recent analysis of our sample data has shown consistently that at least 90% of all write offs relate to insolvency:
	
		
			 HMRC write offs 
			  £ 
			 2007-08 (1)5,462 
			 2008-09 4,171 
			 2009-10 5,958 
			 2010-11 (2)4,695 
			 2011-12 4,214 
			 (1) Will include a small element of tax credits. (2) Excludes tax credits.

Multinational Companies

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reach an agreement on beneficial ownership of multinational corporations with (a) developing countries and (b) members of the G8.

David Gauke: International standards on the disclosure of company ownership already exist and are set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
	The Government is committed to full implementation of the FATF standards and on 18 June published a UK action plan to prevent misuse of companies and legal arrangements. New rules will be introduced requiring companies to obtain and hold information on who owns and controls them and for that information to be held in a central registry held by Companies House, where it will be accessible to law enforcement agencies and tax authorities. The Government will conduct a consultation on whether that information should be publicly accessible. The UK action plan can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-action-plan-to-prevent-misuse-of-companies-and-legal-arrangements/uk-action-plan-to-prevent-misuse-of-companies-and-legal-arrangements
	G8 partners on 18 June also endorsed a set of common principles to tackle the misuse of companies and legal arrangements, and have committed to producing national action plans which set out the concrete steps they will take to do this. The principles can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/g8-action-plan-principles-to-prevent-the-misuse-of-companies-and-legal-arrangements/g8-action-plan-principles-to-prevent-the-misuse-of-companies-and-legal-arrangements

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding in financial transactions was allocated to the Scottish Government in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14; and how much he plans to allocate in 2014-15.

Danny Alexander: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2012-13 9.3 
			 2013-14 123.9 
			 2014-15 180.3

Public Sector Debt

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the US Department of the Treasury webpage that enables US citizens to donate online to reduce the US national debt; and if he will consider introducing a similar page on gov.uk;
	(2)  by what means members of the public can make gifts for the reduction of the national debt;
	(3)  how many gifts from members of the public were made for the purposes of reducing the national debt in each of the last 10 years; what the (a) nature and (b) value of each gift was; and if he will list the non-monetary gifts.

Sajid Javid: Gifts to the Crown for the reduction of the national debt are processed by the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt (CRND) at the Debt Management Office (DMO). CRND has a statutory function to manage any donations and payments given with respect to gifts for the reduction of the national debt. Information on the CRND is available on the DMO's website.
	Members of the public wishing to make donations for the purpose of reducing the national debt can contact the DMO by phone, email or in writing. Payments can be made by cheque to the CRND, or directly to the CRND's donations and bequests bank account Bank of England.
	The Government currently assesses these arrangements to be appropriate but continues to keep them under review.
	Information on the nature and value of gifts donated by the public for the purpose of reducing the national debt since 2004-05 is set out in the following table. The DMO does not hold data on individual donations prior to this date. The CRND accept cash and securities only, so other gifts from the public (eg property and other chattels) must be liquidated before the cash proceeds can be processed.
	
		
			 Details of CRND individual cash and security receipts since 2004-05 
			 Instrument Trade date Value (£) 
			 2004-05   
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2004 1.99 
			 GBP Cash 15 June 2004 125.00 
			 GBP Cash 9 August 2004 600,000.00 
			 GBP Securities 9 September 2004 0.41 
			 GBP Securities 8 October 2004 0.76 
			 GBP Cash 8 October 2004 53,026.18 
			 GBP Securities 19 October 2004 0.74 
			 GBP Cash 1 December 2004 1.99 
			 GBP Cash 20 December 2004 100.00 
			 GBP Cash 23 December 2004 3,908.95 
			 GBP Cash 1 February 2005 33,427.95 
			   690,593.97 
			 2005-06   
			 GBP Cash 29 April 2005 11,152.00 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2005 1.99 
			 GBP Securities 21 June 2005 68.49 
			 GBP Cash 23 June 2005 40.00 
			 GBP Cash 30 June 2005 100.00 
			 GBP Cash 25 August 2005 428,328.95 
			 GBP Cash 15 November 2005 100.00 
			 GBP Securities 17 November 2005 57.81 
			 GBP Cash 1 December 2005 1.99 
			 GBP Securities 7 December 2005 2,917.06 
			 GBP Securities 16 December 2005 4.22 
			 GBP Securities 20 December 2005 4.52 
			 GBP Securities 21 December 2005 0.01 
			 GBP Securities 23 December 2005 45.17 
			 GBP Securities 23 December 2005 4.51 
			 GBP Cash 23 December 2005 2,16 
			 GBP Cash 28 December 2005 6.39 
		
	
	
		
			 GBP Cash 4 January 2006 3.30 
			 GBP Securities 10 January 2006 88.89 
			 GBP Securities 13 January 2006 4.51 
			 GBP Cash 17 January 2006 19.25 
			 GBP Cash 19 January 2006 13.12 
			 GBP Securities 20 January 2006 9.74 
			 GBP Cash 26 January 2006 25.25 
			 GBP Securities 21 February 2006 22.57 
			 GBP Securities 21 February 2006 5.84 
			 GBP Securities 21 February 2006 4.75 
			 GBP Cash 23 February 2006 29.89 
			 GBP Cash 24 February 2006 21,334.00 
			 GBP Securities 29 March 2006 26.69 
			   464,423.07 
			 2006-07   
			 GBP Cash 7 April 2006 0.59 
			 GBP Securities 18 April 2006 41.29 
			 GBP Securities 18 April 2006 16.52 
			 GBP Cash 26 April 2006 71.60 
			 GBP Securities 23 May 2006 26.17 
			 GBP Cash 26 May 2006 3.30 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2006 1.99 
			 GBP Securities 22 June 2006 119.81 
			 GBP Securities 22 June 2006 4.20 
			 GBP Cash 27 June 2006 11.28 
			 GBP Cash 6 September 2006 2,576.30 
			 GBP Securities 14 September 2006 25.75 
			 GBP Securities 14 September 2006 2.84 
			 GBP Securities 14 September 2006 4.44 
			 GBP Securities 14 September 2006 0.63 
			 GBP Securities 14 September 2006 0.45 
			 GBP Cash 21 September 2006 48.07 
			 GBP Cash 1 December 2006 1.99 
			 GBP Cash 30 January 2007 10,000.00 
			 GBP Securities 1 March 2007 8.65 
			 GBP Cash 14 March 2007 5.76 
			   12,971.63 
			 2007-08   
			 GBP Securities 1 May 2007 121.29 
			 GBP Securities 1 May 2007 1.05 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2007 1.99 
			 GBP Securities 19 June 2007 0.45 
			 GBP Cash 20 June 2007 0.10 
			 GBP Cash 9 July 2007 309,251.40 
			 GBP Cash 23 August 2007 5,000.00 
			 GBP Cash 4 December 2007 1.99 
			 GBP Cash 11 December 2007 550,000.00 
			 GBP Securities 7 February 2008 4.18 
			 GBP Cash 11 February 2008 2.25 
			   864,38470 
			    
			 2008-09   
			 GBP Securities 28 April 2008 8.14 
			 GBP Cash 2 June 2008 1.99 
			 GBP Securities 28 July 2008 3.74 
			 GBP Securities 28 July 2008 471.22 
			 GBP Cash 6 August 2008 0.48 
			 GBP Cash 1 December 2008 1.99 
			 GBP Cash 12 December 2008 162.07 
			 GBP Securities 13 January 2009 0.95 
			 GBP Cash 16 January 2009 0.07 
			 GBP Securities 10 February 2009 7,288.79 
			 GBP Securities 10 February 2009 12.01 
		
	
	
		
			 GBP Cash 20 February 2009 11.18 
			 GBP Securities 16 March 2009 180.03 
			   8,142.66 
			 2009-10   
			 GBP Cash 29 April 2009 60.00 
			 GBP Securities 1 May 2009 16.57 
			 GBP Cash 6 May 2009 8.10 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2009 1.99 
			 GBP Securities 20 July 2009 0.59 
			 GBP Cash 23 July 2009 0.01 
			 GBP Cash 1 December 2009 1.99 
			 GBP Cash 16 March 2010 167,969.02 
			   168,058.27 
			 2010-11   
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2010 17,848.83 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2010 1.75 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2010 0.08 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2010 0.08 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2010 0.08 
			 GBP Securities 10 June 2010 135.04 
			 GBP Securities 10 June 2010 20.30 
			 GBP Cash 15 June 2010 3.52 
			 GBP Securities 24 June 2010 3.90 
			 GBP Cash 29 June 2010 5.76 
			 GBP Cash 2 July 2010 60.00 
			 GBP Cash 15 November 2010 36,785.53 
			 GBP Cash 1 December 2010 1.99 
			 GBP Securities 31 January 2011 0.22 
			 GBP Securities 7 February 2011 7.28 
			 GBP Cash 11 February 2011 1.70 
			   54,876.07 
			 2011-12   
			 GBP Cash 4 May 2011 1,416.93 
			 GBP Cash 10 May 2011 0.01 
			 GBP Securities 5 May 2011 0.38 
			 GBP Securities 2 Jun 2011 0.01 
			 GBP Securities 28 June 2011 17.06 
			 GBP Securities 14 July 2011 7.80 
			 GBP Securities 19 September 2011 1.61 
			 GBP Securities 19 September 2011 4.45 
			 GBP Securities 19 September 2011 42.80 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2011 1.99 
			 GBP Cash 5 July 2011 1.44 
			 GBP Cash 5 July 2011 1.26 
			 GBP Cash 5 July 2011 0.11 
			 GBP Cash 20 July 2020 5.61 
			 GBP Cash 22 September 2011 6.72 
			 GBP Cash 1 December 2011 1.99 
			 GBP Cash 14 December 2011 18,478.49 
			 GBP Cash 12 March 2012 1,075.00 
			 GBP Cash 29 March 2012 120.00 
			   21,183.67 
			 2012-13   
			 GBP Cash 23 April 2012 650.00 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2012 0.08 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2012 0.08 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2012 0.08 
			 GBP Cash 24 October 2012 101,946.98 
			 GBP Securities 30 October 202012 0.04 
			 GBP Securities 30 October 2012 0.07 
			 GBP Cash 6 November 2012 7,000.00 
			 GBP Cash 3 December 2012 1.99 
		
	
	
		
			 GBP Securities 31 January 2013 8.84 
			 GBP Cash 4 February 2013 3.06 
			 GBP Cash 7 February 2013 10,000.00 
			 GBP Securities 18 February 2013 41.91 
			 GBP Cash 5 March 2013 1,988.20 
			 GBP Cash 28 March 2013 284,964.00 
			 GBP Cash 1 June 2013 1.75 
			   406,607.08

Revenue and Customs

Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, columns 455-56W, on Revenue and Customs, how many of the additional staff are (a) directly employed civil servants, (b) directly employed temporary staff and (c) externally employed staff through an employment agency; and what the terms and conditions are of all the newly-hired additional staff.

David Gauke: HMRC increased its Contact Centre capacity by 917.56 full-time equivalents. Of these staff:
	(a) All were directly employed civil servants.
	(b) 847 FTE were employed by HMRC on temporary contracts.
	(c) None of the above were employed through an employment agency.
	All additional staff were recruited on standard civil service fixed-term contracts.

Revenue and Customs: Equal Pay

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received in relation to equal pay and HM Revenue and Customs staff; and what recent assessment he has made of this issue.

David Gauke: I have not received any equal pay representations in relation to HMRC; however, I am aware that HMRC have recently received five equal pay representations:
	1. 2012: Four equal pay questionnaires;
	2. 2013: One equal pay questionnaire.
	I understand that HMRC responded to the questionnaires received in July 2012 and agreed with the recognised departmental trade union that the claims would be investigated internally. The questionnaire received in 2013 will be completed and returned to the complainant's representative as required.

Sign Language

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to ensure that deaf people have the opportunity to communicate in British Sign Language with (a) tax, VAT and other officials and (b) the agencies and public bodies that support his Department.

Sajid Javid: HM Revenue and Customs offers a range of contact channels for deaf people. Those whose first language is British Sign can ask HM Revenue and Customs officials to provide a sign language interpreter to help deal with their tax and benefits issues. An interpreter can also make a telephone call to HM Revenue and Customs help lines on their behalf when they are in the presence of the interpreter. Text based communication is also possible, through written letters and textphone services including text relay. Deaf people can also appoint an agent to act on their behalf.
	The UK Debt Management Office, an executive agency of HM Treasury, provides post and email contact details on the ‘contact us’ page of its website, and would consider on a case-by-case basis any request for information to be provided in an alternative format in order to ensure equality of access.
	Other non-departmental public bodies for which HMT is responsible will consider access requests as required.

Starbucks: Taxation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions have been held between Starbucks and HM Revenue and Customs about that company's transfer pricing charges; if he plans to reimpose advance corporation tax; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: I am not privy to the details of the tax affairs of this company and more generally HMRC is prevented by the rules governing taxpayer confidentiality from disclosing such information.
	There are currently no plans to reintroduce advance corporation tax.

Tax Allowances: Pensions

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of people in each parliamentary constituency in receipt of the maximum permissible relief on pension contributions under the pensions lifetime allowance.

Sajid Javid: Estimates are not available.

Tax Allowances: Pensions

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the Exchequer of the introduction of transitional protection consequent on changes to the pensions lifetime allowance in each of the next two fiscal years.

Sajid Javid: Transitional protection has been an intrinsic part of the introduction of the lifetime allowance and at each point when the lifetime allowance has been reduced. It ensures that retrospective tax charges do not arise for individuals whose pension savings had already grown above the level of the reduced lifetime allowance before the lower limit took effect. As transitional protection is an intrinsic part of the lifetime allowance reduction, an estimate of the exchequer effect of excluding this element for each of the next two fiscal years is not available.

Tax Allowances: Pensions

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate (a) the likely cost to the Exchequer of maintaining tax relief under the pensions lifetime allowance at a maximum level of £1.25 million in each of the next two fiscal years and (b) the likely additional costs if the maximum level were £1 million in each of the next two fiscal years.

Sajid Javid: In autumn 2012 the Chancellor announced restrictions to pensions tax relief including a reduction in the pensions lifetime allowance to £1.25 million. This package has no exchequer cost-it is expected to raise revenue in 2014-15 in 2015-16 through reduced pension tax relief.
	Reducing the lifetime allowance to £1 million would raise further revenue.

Tax Avoidance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people HM Revenue and Customs employed on combating large-scale tax avoidance on the most recent date for which figures are available.

David Gauke: The information requested is not currently available in this form. HM Revenue and Customs' compliance activity covers all aspects of compliance behaviour from error through to avoidance, evasion and organised criminal attack. HMRC takes a risk-based approach to compliance activity and so a breakdown of the number of officers specifically working on tax avoidance is available only at a disproportionate cost.
	The Government has invested almost £1 billion in HMRC over the spending review period, including £77 million in the last autumn statement, to increase the number of specialists working on compliance.

Taxation: Motor Vehicles

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the total amount of taxation paid by motorists annually.

Sajid Javid: Table B.3 on page 103 of the Budget 2013 report sets out the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)'s forecasts of receipts from fuel duty and vehicle excise duty (VED) for the financial years 2012-13 to 2017-18.
	In relation to receipts from VAT on car fuel I refer the hon. Member to the written answer the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Gauke), gave to the hon. Member for South Antrim (Dr McCrea), on 18 June 2013, Official Report, column 642W.
	Information on fuel supply volumes is available at:
	www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutybulletins.aspx

VAT: Social Services

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of introducing zero-rate VAT for small and medium-sized enterprise care service providers purchasing specialist care equipment;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of introducing zero-rate VAT for care service providers purchasing specialist care equipment.

David Gauke: No estimates have been made. EU VAT legislation prevents the UK from introducing new zero-rates.

Welfare Tax Credits: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2013, Official Report, column 709W, on social security benefits: Scotland, how many people in (a) Scotland and (b) Glasgow East made repayments of overpaid tax credit awards (i) within 30 days and (ii) in instalments repayable over a period of (A) up to 12 months, (B) between 12 and 18 months, (C) between 18 and 24 months and (D) between 24 and 48 months.

Sajid Javid: The response assumes that repayments refer to repayments made through direct recovery from those no longer receiving tax credits.
	The figures provided consist of repayments where the initial overpaid amount was both fully paid off and only partially paid off. The time period is that which payments were actually made over. Ongoing payments are not included.
	The figures for Scotland and Glasgow East are as follows:
	(a)Scotland
	(i) 54,000 made repayments within 30 days.
	(ii)(A) 88,000 made repayments over a period up to 12 months.
	(ii)(B) 10,000 made repayments over a period between 12 and 18 months.
	(ii)(C) 5,000 made repayments over a period between 18 and 24 months.
	(ii)(D) 8,000 made repayments over a period between 24 and 48 months.
	(b)Glasgow East
	(i) 600 made repayments within 30 days.
	(i)(A) 1,700 made repayments over a period up to 12 months.
	(i)(B) 200 made repayments over a period between 12 and 18 months.
	(i)(C) 100 made repayments over a period between 18 and 24 months.
	(i)(D) 200 made repayments over a period between 24 and 48 months.

CABINET OFFICE

Billing

John Healey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment his Department has made of the potential savings it could achieve by paying its suppliers early in return for rebates.

Chloe Smith: Officials in the Cabinet Office are working to reform public sector procurement to drive value for money for the taxpayer and to ensure the widest possible range of suppliers, including SMEs, can do business with Government. At the time of the last general election, procurement practice included too many barriers to small, innovative businesses. Because there was no central oversight of supplier relations, an enormous amount of money from the public purse was squandered.
	Since 2010, billions of pounds have been saved by reforming procurement, including £3.8 billion last year. This was achieved through centralisation of procurement for common goods and services (£1 billion), centrally renegotiating large government contracts (£0.8 billion), and limiting expenditure on marketing and advertising, consultants and temporary agency staff (£1.9 billion).
	This Government's policy is to pay undisputed invoices within five days and to pass 30-day payment terms down supply chains. We do not make early payment conditional on rebates.

Charity Commission and Big Lottery Fund

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many members of the board of the (a) Charity Commission and (b) Big Lottery Fund have declared membership of a political party; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: As was the case under previous Administrations, the Cabinet Office does not hold information on appointees' membership of political parties.
	In line with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice, details of successful candidates' declared political activity is published when the appointments are publicised. Membership of a political party does not constitute declarable political activity under the terms of the code of practice.

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: Since the last general election, no staff have been employed in the Cabinet Office or Government Procurement Services on a zero-hour contract during the periods specified.
	The Big Lottery Fund retained two individuals on zero-hour contracts during 2010-11 to 2011-12 and seven during 2012-13. As was the case under the previous Administration, the fund is responsible for their own staffing arrangements. They review their use of such contracts regularly.

Domestic Violence

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of cases of domestic abuse in each of the last three years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for estimates of the number of cases of domestic abuse in each of the last three years.
	The following table provides estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) of the number of domestic abuse victims based on respondents' experience of domestic abuse in the 12 months prior to interview. The CSEW does not include questions on the number of times victims have experienced separate incidents of domestic abuse. It is therefore not possible to provide estimates of the number of domestic abuse incidents from the CSEW.
	Estimates of the number of domestic abuse victims are presented for the 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 CSEW years. Data from the 2012/13 survey are not currently available as these are due to be published for the first time in early 2014.
	
		
			 Estimated number of victims of domestic abuse, 2009/10 to 2011/12 CSEW—England and Wales. Adults aged 16 to 59 
			 Number of victims (thousand) 
			  2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			 Any domestic abuse(1) 1,876 1,972 1,998 
			     
			 Unweighted base 21,620 70,694 10,900 
			 (1) Any domestic abuse includes partner or family non-physical abuse, threats, force, sexual assault or stalking Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	These figures have been published by ONS and are available in Table 4.06 accompanying the statistical bulletin Focus on; Violent Crime and Sexual Offences, 2011/12. This statistical bulletin is available on the ONS website here:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime/stb-focus-on--violent-crime-and-sexual-offences-2011-12.html
	Domestic abuse is not in itself a separate legal offence and thus is not part of the notifiable offence list that forms the basis for police recorded crime statistics. In the police recorded crime series cases of domestic abuse will be incorporated within the relevant category of offence in accordance with the intent of the offence and any injuries sustained, such as 'inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH)' or 'less serious wounding' for example. Therefore, it is not possible to separately identify the number of offences of domestic abuse recorded by the police.
	Domestic abuse combines partner abuse (non-sexual), family abuse (non-sexual) and sexual assault or stalking carried out by a current or former partner or other family member. This broadly matches the government's definition of domestic violence and abuse which has been used since March 2013.
	Statistics on crime in Scotland and Northern Ireland are collected and published separately, and can be downloaded from:
	Scotland:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice
	Northern Ireland:
	http://www.psni.police.uk/directory/updates/updates_statistics.htm
	http://www.dojni.gov.uk/index/statistics-research/stats-research-publications/northern-ireland-crime-survey-s-r/r--s-bulletin-1-2013-experience-of-crime-findings-from-the-2011-12-northern-ireland-crime-survey.htm

Job Creation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) part-time and (b) full-time jobs were created in each Government region of England in each year since 2008.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) part-time and (b) full-time jobs were created in each Government region of England in each year since 2008. (160968)
	Information regarding the number of jobs created is not available. As an alternative, estimates relating to the net changes in the number of people in full-time or part-time employment have been provided. The ONS compiles Labour Market Statistics for areas below the UK following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions using the Annual Population Survey (APS).
	Tables 1 and 2 show the number and net change of people employed (a) full-time and (b) part-time, in each region of England. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period January 2012 to December 2012 and the 12 month periods ending in December in each year since 2008.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Net change(1) of the number of people in full-time employment in each region of England 
			 Thousand 
			  12 months ending December: 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			  Level Net change (+/-) Level Net change (+/-) Level Net change (+/-) Level Net change (+/-) Level(2) Net change (+/-) 
			 North East 863 — 827 -37 836 9 818 -18 *817 -1 
			 North West 2,336 — 2,281 -55 2,290 9 2,264 -26 *2,267 3 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,787 — 1,736 -51 1,738 2 1,729 -9 *1,743 14 
			 East Midlands 1,571 — 1,532 -38 1,544 12 1,541 -4 *1,518 -23 
			 West Midlands 1,828 — 1,757 -71 1,730 -27 1,735 5 *1,747 12 
			 East 2,062 — 2,048 -15 2,023 -25 2,051 28 *2,086 35 
			 London 2,952 — 2,890 -61 2,864 -27 2,894 31 *2,946 51 
			 South East 3,057 — 2,975 -82 2,956 -19 2,989 34 *3,035 46 
			 South West 1,795 — 1,738 -57 1,745 7 1,744 -1 *1,757 13 
			            
			 England total 18,251 — 17,783 -468 17,725 -58 17,766 41 17,916 150 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Net change(1) of the number of people in part-time employment in each region of England 
			 Thousand 
			  12 months ending December: 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			  Level Net change (+/-) Level Net change (+/-) Level Net change (+/-) Level Net change (+/-) Level(2) Net change (+/-) 
			 North East 291 — 296 5 298 2 301 4 *318 17 
			 North West 783 — 791 7 834 44 843 9 *853 9 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 651 — 654 3 663 9 662 -1 *685 23 
			 East Midlands 573 — 578 5 546 -32 565 19 *600 35 
			 West Midlands 621 — 643 22 649 6 641 -8 *661 21 
			 East 735 — 727 -8 756 29 781 25 *783 1 
			 London 779 — 824 45 848 25 855 6 *874 19 
			 South East 1,123 — 1,150 27 1,185 35 1,166 -19 *1,159 -7 
			 South West 748 — 758 10 756 -2 766 10 *756 -10 
			 England total 6,305 — 6,421 116 6,536 115 6,580 44 6,688 108 
			 (1) The net change is calculated on unrounded data. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV <5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey.

Job Creation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of jobs created in each year since 2008 have been (a) self-employed, (b) part-time and (c) self-employed.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of jobs created in each year since 2008 have been (a) self-employed, (b) part-time and (c) pself-employed (sic). 161092.
	Information regarding the number of jobs created is not available. As an alternative, estimates relating to the net changes in the number of people employed have been provided.
	The table shows the number and net annual change of people, in full- or part-time self-employment, in each year from February to April 2008 to February to April 2013. The total in employment has been provided as a comparison.
	Estimates of full- and part-time employment and self-employment are published monthly in the Labour Market Statistical Bulletin in Table EMP01, via the following link:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/june-2013/table-emp01.xls
	
		
			 People in employment aged 16 and over, February to April, each year, 2008 to 2013, United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted 
			 Thousand 
			  Total in employment(1) Self-employed 
			  Total Full-time Part-time Total Full-time Part-time 
			  Level Net annual change Level Net annual change Level Net annual change Level Net annual change Level Net annual change Level Net annual change 
			 2008 29,528 — 22,010 — 7,518 — 3,830 — 2,923 — 907 — 
			 2009 29,078 -449 21,559 -451 7,520 2 3,834 4 2,890 -33 945 37 
			 2010 28,842 -237 21,075 -484 7,767 247 3,948 114 2,931 41 1,017 73 
			 2011 29,229 386 21,287 212 7,941 174 3,986 38 2,879 -52 1,107 90 
			 2012 29,324 96 21,335 48 7,989 48 4,171 185 2,998 119 1,173 66 
			 2013 29,756 432 21,692 357 8,064 75 4,200 29 3,025 27 1,175 2 
			 (1) Includes employees, self-employed, unpaid family workers and those on government supported training and employment programmes. Source: Labour Force Survey.

Mass Media: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in Barnsley East constituency are employed in the media sector.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many people in Barnsley East constituency are employed in the media sector. [160948].
	Annual employment statistics are available from the ONS' Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). Due to the ONS' policy on statistical rounding and disclosure for BRES, employment values are rounded to the nearest 100. As such, the number of people in Barnsley East constituency employed in the media sector rounds to zero.
	The media sector has been defined as including the following standard industrial classification industries: publishing activities; motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities; and programming and broadcasting activities.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Public Sector: Mutual Societies

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment the Mutuals Taskforce has made of the introduction of procurement options that would permit commissioners to not open to competitive tender the services delivered by a spun-out public service mutual.

Francis Maude: In the Mutuals Taskforce report, 'Public Service Mutuals: Next Steps', at:
	http://mutuals.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Public%20Service%20Mutuals%20next%20steps.pdf
	it was recommended that the Government, led by the Cabinet Office, should continue to negotiate for greater clarity on and improvements to EU public procurement rules that support newly-formed public service mutuals and clarity on existing rules. In particular the Cabinet Office should press for a temporary exclusion for mutuals; to enable them to be established before being subject to full and open competition.

Tenants: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of tenants in each London borough; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has made of the number of tenants in each London borough; and if he will make a statement. 161475
	I am pleased to provide an extract from 2011 census table QS403EW Tenure—People, which provides the information that you have requested for all London Boroughs.
	
		
			 2011 census qs403ew: Tenure—People 
			 Population: All usual residents in households        
			 Units: Persons        
			 Date: 2011        
			 Local authority: district/unitary All categories: Tenure Owned: Total Owned: Owned outright Owned: Owned with a mortgage or loan Shared ownership (part owned and part rented) Social rented: Total Social rented: Rented from council (local authority) Social rented: Other social rented 
			          
			 Camden 212,443 67,967 33,901 34,066 1,349 73,612 52,959 20,653 
			 City of London 7,187 3,023 1,666 1,357 27 1,344 773 571 
			 Hackney 244,433 58,693 19,879 38,814 4,722 105,542 56,267 49,275 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 180,652 60,456 25,924 34,532 2,394 54,456 27,606 26,850 
			 Haringey 253,236 95,896 35,451 60,445 3,236 66,921 42,828 24,093 
			 Islington 200,134 56,585 21,143 35,442 2,226 84,718 54,716 30,002 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 155,939 57,374 34,881 22,493 1,290 39,634 16,076 23,558 
			 Lambeth 300,101 96,633 30,436 66,197 3,701 104,113 59,910 44,203 
			 Lewisham 273,342 117,320 34,705 82,615 2,816 82,211 41,540 40,671 
			 Newham 306,009 104,948 34,553 70,395 4,218 79,268 48,607 30,661 
			 Southwark 282,560 79,928 23,407 56,521 4,979 123,617 89,496 34,121 
			 Tower Hamlets 250,343 54,394 16,884 37,510 4,475 111,197 50,503 60,694 
			 Wandsworth 301,648 134,978 49,500 85,478 3,513 57,646 38,456 19,190 
			 Westminster 213,208 62,476 33,986 28,490 1,643 60,354 29,673 30,681 
			 Barking and Dagenham 184,901 88,157 23,692 64,465 2,300 56,713 47,137 9,576 
			 Barnet 352,597 203,416 82,008 121,408 2,650 47,260 28,752 18,508 
			 Bexley 230,902 170,041 59,028 111,013 1,700 30,697 3,975 26,722 
			 Brent 308,895 134,116 56,377 77,739 3,776 66,338 25,647 40,691 
			 Bromley 307,023 223,431 83,924 139,507 2,169 40,788 4,366 36,422 
			 Croydon 360,230 212,404 70,033 142,371 3,953 64,704 34,789 29,915 
			 Ealing 334,725 171,016 65,080 105,936 4,729 55,815 32,114 23,701 
			 Enfield 310,066 177,419 65,075 112,344 2,521 54,014 35,055 18,959 
		
	
	
		
			 Greenwich 249,991 108,983 33,957 75,026 3,256 82,146 52,728 29,418 
			 Harrow 236,970 152,271 58,857 93,414 1,905 23,246 12,425 10,821 
			 Havering 235,671 178,166 67,328 110,838 1,212 30,531 23,077 7,454 
			 Hillingdon 267,227 166,228 58,083 108,145 3,282 42,280 25,068 17,212 
			 Hounslow 251,961 127,061 44,842 82,219 5,070 53,435 34,593 18,842 
			 Kingston upon Thames 156,358 101,192 35,329 65,863 966 16,978 11,805 5,173 
			 Merton 198,217 116,281 41,312 74,969 1,456 27,085 7,466 19,619 
			 Redbridge 277,323 179,459 62,848 116,611 2,321 26,951 15,344 11,607 
			 Richmond upon Thames 184,098 121,678 47,349 74,329 1,152 20,497 5,374 15,123 
			 Sutton 188,695 132,054 43,542 88,512 1,349 25,293 14,788 10,505 
			 Waltham Forest 256,615 125,751 42,823 82,928 2,344 52,977 26,904 26,073 
		
	
	
		
			 Local authority: district/ unitary Private rented: Total Private rented: Private landlord or letting agency Private rented: Employer of a household member Private rented: Relative or friend of household member Private rented: Other Living rent free 
			 Camden 66,169 62,752 567 2,004 846 3,346 
			 City of London 2,465 2,263 28 100 74 328 
			 Hackney 72,480 69,102 186 2,507 685 2,996 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 60,696 57,786 327 2,044 539 2,650 
			 Haringey 83,516 80,630 280 1,758 848 3,667 
			 Islington 54,041 51,470 233 1,750 588 2,564 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 52,879 50,095 702 1,379 703 4,762 
			 Lambeth 92,754 87,969 588 3,167 1,030 2,900 
			 Lewisham 68,445 64,704 234 2,752 755 2,550 
			 Newham 114,285 109,872 275 2,735 1,403 3,290 
			 Southwark 70,707 66,455 537 2,766 949 3,329 
			 Tower Hamlets 77,204 73,107 320 2,160 1,617 3,073 
			 Wandsworth 102,638 97,776 737 3,413 712 2,873 
			 Westminster 82,322 77,781 1,124 2,042 1,375 6,413 
			 Barking and Dagenham 36,283 34,202 104 1,535 442 1,448 
			 Barnet 94,026 89,869 640 2,517 1,000 5,245 
			 Bexley 26,949 24,950 99 1,664 236 1,515 
			 Brent 100,696 96,606 413 2,502 1,175 3,969 
			 Bromley 38,345 35,916 427 1,652 350 2,290 
			 Croydon 75,754 71,648 451 2,890 765 3,415 
			 Ealing 98,822 94,503 426 2,733 1,160 4,343 
			 Enfield 72,055 69,255 323 1,798 679 4,057 
			 Greenwich 53,325 49,606 701 2,043 975 2,281 
			 Harrow 56,931 53,828 579 1,788 736 2,617 
			 Havering 24,380 22,826 148 1,236 170 1,382 
			 Hillingdon 53,054 48,918 1,274 1,634 1,228 2,383 
			 Hounslow 63,654 60,631 399 1,859 765 2,741 
			 Kingston upon Thames 35,944 33,687 454 1,261 542 1,278 
			 Merton 51,642 49,081 285 1,833 443 1,753 
			 Redbridge 66,046 62,772 233 2,450 591 2,546 
			 Richmond upon Thames 38,925 36,703 482 1,305 435 1,846 
			 Sutton 28,930 27,212 179 1,357 182 1,069 
			 Waltham Forest 73,097 69,982 273 2,079 763 2,446 
			 Note: In order to protect against disclosure of personal information, records have been swapped between different geographic areas. Some counts will be affected, particularly small counts at the lowest geographies. Source: ONS Crown Copyright Reserved [from Nomis on 21 June 2013]

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Dental Services

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of admissions to hospital via accident and emergency department were related to dental problems in each year since 2005-06.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	A count of (a) finished admission episodes(1) admitted via accident and emergency(2 )where the consultant's main specialty was dental(3), (b) all finished admission episodes admitted via accident and emergency and (c) the percentage of all admissions via accident and emergency that were under a consultant with a dental specialty for the years 2005-06 to 2011-12(4).
	
		
			 Activity in English NHS Hospitals, and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  (a) Dental FAEs admitted via A and E (b) All FAEs admitted via A and E (c) Percentage of all FAEs admitted via A and E that were dental (percentage) 
			 2005-06 18,930 3,387,499 0.56 
			 2006-07 17,736 3,484,367 0.51 
			 2007-08 18,042 3,552,721 0.51 
			 2008-09 19,389 3,785,920 0.51 
			 2009-10 20,317 3,968,881 0.51 
			 2010-11 21,285 4,104,995 0.52 
			 2011-12 22,356 4,124,390 0.54 
			 (1) Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2 )Admission via A and E Admissions where the method of admission is recorded as 21—Emergency Admission via A and E 28—Emergency Admission—Other (including A and E of a different provider) (3) Consultant Main Specialty The specialty under which the consultant responsible for the care of the patient at that time is registered. Take care when analysing HES data by specialty, or by groups of specialties (such as "acute"). Trusts have different ways of managing specialties and attributing codes so it is better to analyse by specific diagnoses, operations or other patient or service information. Consultant Main Specialty Codes 140—Oral Surgery 141—Restorative Dentistry 142—Paediatric Dentistry (available from 1999-2000) 143—Orthodontics 145—Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgery (available from 2004-05) 146—Endodontics 147—Periodontics 148—Prosthodontics (4) Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Ambulance Services

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what whistleblowing procedures are in place for staff of ambulance trusts.

Daniel Poulter: All national health service organisations, including ambulance trusts, are required to have whistleblowing policies and procedures in place that are compliant with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, as set out in HSC 1999/198. The Department also commissioned the ‘Speak up for a Healthy NHS’ guidance to assist employers in developing effective whistleblowing policies and this is available at:
	www.nhsemployers.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/Speak_Up_for_a_Healthy_NHSrd181011.pdf

Ambulance Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government has for future accountability arrangements for ambulance services; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning ambulance services based on an assessment of local need. Clinicians are best placed to co-ordinate the commissioning of high quality care for their patients, by ensuring that commissioning decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local health care needs. It is the decision of individual ambulance trusts as to how resources are used to meet local demand.
	NHS England is responsible for ensuring CCGs commission a high-quality, sustainable service for their local population, and the Government holds it to account for this through the Mandate.

Blood: Donors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2013, Official Report, column 1071W, on blood: donors, whether the 12 month ban on men who have had sex with men donating blood also applies to donations from those who are stem cell matches for people with illnesses who could benefit from receiving a donation.

Anna Soubry: The blood donor selection criterion relating to men who have had sex with men (MSM) was amended in England, Wales and Scotland from permanent deferral to deferral for 12 months following the last relevant contact. As these are criteria for blood donation, they do not apply to the donation of stem cells and the independent scientific Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs are currently reviewing the tissue and cell donor selection criteria for MSM.

Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many applications for each type of (a) cancer treatment and (b) bowel cancer treatment were (i) received, (ii) approved and (iii) rejected in each (A) NHS England region and (B) NHS England local area team in each month in 2013;
	(2)  what data NHS England will publish about (a) applications to and (b) approvals made by the Cancer Drugs Fund; and when such data will be available.

Norman Lamb: Information on the use of the Cancer Drugs Fund since NHS England took responsibility for the Fund from April 2013 is not yet available.
	We understand that NHS England is currently considering which information will be made available routinely and how it will be made available. It is validating the data for April and May and this information is expected to be made available in early July. Thereafter, each month's data will be published at the end of the following month.
	Information on the number of patients treated prior to 1 April 2013 was provided in my answer of 18 June 2013, Official Report, column 656W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton).

Carers: Young People

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken with the Department of Education to help ensure that young carers achieve the same standards of educational attainment at GCSE level as other young people.

Edward Timpson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	The Department has worked closely with The Children's Society and Carers Trust over the last two years to share evidence-based tools and good practice events to improve the identification and support of young carers at 17 regional events. This includes an online training package for school staff and teachers developed by my Department and the Department of Health with the National Young Carers Coalition. It is designed to raise awareness about the issues facing young people with caring responsibilities and how it can impact on their school attendance and attainment. It also provides information about how schools can implement or adapt systems to identify and support young carers. It is hosted on the Children's Society's website(1). I recently announced the award of a new contract worth up to £1.2 million to those organisations to continue this work for a further two years.
	The Department of Health have also recently started training school nurses to be champions for young carers. They will help raise awareness in schools among staff and pupils, and help head teachers and governors decide how best to identify and support young carers at school.
	(1) http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Young-Carers-Web-Pub-v13/player.html

Carers: Young People

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what support his Department has made available for young carers in each year since 2010;
	(2)  what support his Department gives to young carers from a minority background who do not speak English as their first language. [Official Report, 18 July 2013, Vol. 566, c. 17MC.]

Edward Timpson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	From 2011 to 2013, the Department allocated over £1.5 million in grant funding to The Children's Society and Carers Trust to improve the support available for young carers. This followed the conclusion of a three-year funding grant to help 18 local authorities develop and test intensive family focused models of support for families with young carers as part of the young carers pathfinder programme.
	The funding has enabled The Children's Society and Carers Trust to deliver regional events for practitioners in local statutory and voluntary services on designing and delivering 'whole family' approaches to support for young carers. The events include training on engaging young carers in "hard-to-reach" groups, such as those belonging to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups who have English as a second language. The training is based on learning and resources developed in partnership with the Black Carers Network and young carers from BAME communities. In February I announced the award of a new contract worth up to £1 2 million to those two organisations to continue this work for a further two years.
	Additionally, the Department has worked closely with the two organisations to share evidence-based tools and good practice guidance, including an online training package for school staff which raises awareness about the issues facing young people with caring responsibilities and how it can impact on their school attendance and attainment.

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: No officials from the Department were retained on zero hour contracts during 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 respectively.
	Based on information supplied by the Department's Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, the total number of staff retained on zero hours contracts for each year was as follows:
	
		
			 Number of staff retained on zero-hour contracts 
			  Number 
			 2010-11 37 
			 2011-12 21 
			 2012-13 51

Drugs: Health Education

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which advertising agency prepared his Department's recent campaign for the FRANK website; and if he will publish the brief given to that agency on the preparation of the campaign advertising.

Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The Home Office is the Department responsible for the recent FRANK campaign. The advertising agency who produced this campaign was Mother London. We do not publish full briefs, but a summary of the campaign objectives and key messages provided to the advertising agency are as follows:
	Summary:
	Ensure young people turn to FRANK for drug advice when they need it.
	Audience:
	Primary: 13-18
	FRANK is a universal service, but marketing is best focused on young people, before they come into contact with drugs, and while attitudes are still forming.
	Secondary: 19-24s and concerned others (primarily parents)
	The FRANK helpline receives a significant number of calls from these groups. Although the campaign won't explicitly target them, they are likely to overhear the advertising.
	Objectives:
	The aim of the FRANK campaign is to prevent drug use by ensuring young people and concerned others contact FRANK when they need drugs information and advice.
	Specific campaign objectives are to:
	1. Increase awareness of the FRANK service
	2. Increase trust and credibility of the FRANK service
	3. Signpost and direct audiences to the FRANK service channel
	Key messages and creative:
	Key messages:
	It’s ok to talk about drugs.
	FRANK is the expert on drugs.
	For friendly, confidential drugs information and advice, talk to FRANK.
	FRANK will give you the full picture on drugs.
	FRANK is for anyone who has a question about drugs.
	The call to action remains to visit the FRANK website.

Drugs: Health Education

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of whether the website of the FRANK drug information campaign is fully compliant with Article 33 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The United Kingdom is compliant with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is committed to protecting young people from the harms caused by drugs. The FRANK service is an important element of our work to educate young people about drugs. Regular evaluation of the FRANK service, including the website, is undertaken to ensure that the content is correct, up-to-date and provides a valuable resource to those who use it.

East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the number of employees of East of England Ambulance Trust was whose total remuneration (including pension commitments) was (a) greater than £100,000, (b) between £75,000 and £99,999 and (c) between £50,000 and £74,999 in each of the last three years; and what the total cost of remunerating such employees in each year was.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not collected centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust directly for this information.

Health and Wellbeing Boards

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has allocated for health and wellbeing boards for (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

Norman Lamb: The Department has not allocated additional funding to local authorities for health and wellbeing boards this financial year and nor do we plan to for 2014-15 and 2015-16. The Department is funding the Local Government Association this financial year to deliver a programme of support for health and wellbeing boards as they take on their statutory responsibilities.
	Health and wellbeing boards are statutory committees of English local authorities and while they have no direct statutory responsibility for commissioning services, local authorities are able to delegate additional functions, such as in relation to commissioning, to a health and wellbeing board if they so wish.

Health Professions: HIV Infection

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his Department's response to its consultation on workplace restrictions on HIV positive healthcare workers.

Anna Soubry: The Department intends to publish a response in July.

Health Services: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) administrative and (b) management costs each NHS trust in Essex incurred in each year since 2009; and what proportion of each trust's total expenditure those costs represented.

Daniel Poulter: Information regarding national health service trust expenditure on administrative and clerical staff, managers and senior managers within Essex, for each year since 2009-10, is shown in the following table. NHS Foundation Trust annual accounts are laid in Parliament.
	
		
			   Total senior managers and managers(1) All administrative and clerical staff(1) 
			  Total gross expenditure(2) (£000) Expenditure (£000) Expenditure as a percentage of total gross expenditure (%) Expenditure (£000) Expenditure as a percentage of total gross expenditure (%) 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust      
			 2009-10 243,249 6,866 2.8 14,587 6.0 
			 2010-11 285,546 7,091 2.5 15,303 5.4 
			 2011-12 262,773 6,272 2.4 14,546 5.5 
			       
			 Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust      
			 2009-10 171,685 4,958 2.9 12,853 7.5 
			 2010-11 178,996 5,802 3.2 12,980 7.3 
			 2011-12 185,318 5,871 3.2 12,128 6.5 
			 Note: All administrative and clerical staff expenditure includes both NHS and non NHS staff. Sources: (1) Staff expenditure—Annual Financial Returns of NHS Trusts (2) Total gross expenditure—NHS Trust Audited Summarisation Schedules

Health: Screening

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to increase the number of people taking the NHS Health Check;
	(2)  how many people had taken the NHS Health Check on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Anna Soubry: The NHS Health Check Programme has been subject to a phased roll out since 2009 and the number of offered appointments and take up reflect this. Estimated returns indicate that about 1 million to 1.4 million checks were offered in 2009-10 and 2010-11, respectively. In 2011-12 this increased to 2.2 million offers and 1.1 million checks received. During 2012-13, 2.57 million offers and 1.26 million checks were received: an uptake of 49%. This level of uptake for a new programme is a good achievement.
	Local authorities are now mandated to continue the roll out of the programme with an expectation of increasing uptake to 75% which will focus programme activity. The number of NHS Health Checks offered and received is an indicator in the Public Health Outcomes Framework.
	Public Health England is actively supporting the roll out and uptake of NHS Health Checks and in July will publish a multi-agency review of implementation and action plan.

Herbal Medicine

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department plans to introduce a statutory register of herbal practitioners.

Daniel Poulter: The legislation around this policy is complex and there are a number of issues that have arisen which we need to work through. We appreciate that the delay is causing concern. The Department will make an announcement on the progress of this policy once the issues involved have been worked through and resolved.

Horse Meat

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many thoroughbred racehorses registered with each passport-issuing authority and previously (a) in training, (b) out of training, (c) in breeding and (d) formerly used for breeding were killed in UK abattoirs in each of the last three years; and how many such animals entered the human food chain.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is not held by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The FSA holds data on the number of solipeds slaughtered in United Kingdom abattoirs. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath) on 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 74W.

Horse Meat

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure on (a) equine DNA testing and (b) phenylbutazone testing by (i) local authorities, (ii) Government and (iii) industry has been in 2013.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) does not hold information on the expenditure by local authorities on equine DNA testing and phenylbutazone testing in 2013.
	The total cost to the FSA for funding local authority and port health authority sampling of beef products for equine DNA in 2013 is £329,150.
	The cost to the FSA for sampling 1,912 samples from 30 January 2013, when the FSA started 100% sampling of horses presented for slaughter for the presence of phenylbutazone, to 17 June 2013 is £325,040.00.
	The FSA does not hold information on the expenditure by the industry on its testing for equine DNA and for phenylbutazone in 2013.

Hospitals: Northamptonshire

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people employed at (a) Kettering General Hospital and (b) Northampton General Hospital are on zero hours contracts.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.

Huntington's Disease

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support is available through the NHS for people suffering from Huntingdon's Disease; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: Adult specialised neuroscience services, including those for people with Huntingdon's disease are commissioned by NHS England's specialised commissioning teams.
	NHS England aims to put personalised care planning at the centre of building care specific to each and every person's needs and goals. This would include application of best practice in line with NICE guidance and quality standards.
	Patients with Huntingdon's disease interact with the national health service at many levels from a close relationship with their primary care services, accessing secondary care services at times of acute need, and the expert advice of neurology services in specialised centres. As such, NHS England Strategic Clinical Networks, which include neurological conditions, will include work programmes to ensure patients with this relentless progressive disease have access to services of the highest quality throughout their life from expert diagnosis, disability support, and through to terminal care.
	The Department is working closely with the other United Kingdom health departments and other key partners and stakeholders to produce a UK Plan for Rare Diseases by the end of 2013. The Plan aims to improve diagnosis, treatment and care management for all patients with a rare disease.

Magnetic Resonance Imagers: Greater London

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff in each London hospital are able to operate MRI scanners on Sundays.

Daniel Poulter: The data requested are not collected.

Magnetic Resonance Imagers: Greater London

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MRI scanners are in operation in hospitals in London.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not collected.

Maternity Services

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support his Department provides to women with obstetric fistula.

Daniel Poulter: Obstetric fistula results from obstructed or protracted labour and can be avoided if these complications are identified early and the baby is delivered by caesarean section.
	NHS England’s clinical reference group is responsible for the commissioning of more specialised elements of gynaecological care, including the treatment of obstetric fistula, which would typically fall outside of the experience of local general practitioner and hospital care.

NHS: Ancillary Staff

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care assistants in the East Midlands are on zero hours contracts.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect this information centrally.
	Skills for Care, the partner in the sector skills council for social care, has provided the following estimates on adult social care workers.
	
		
			 Estimated number of adult social care workers on zero-hours contracts in the East Midlands 
			 Region Estimated number of adult social care workers on zero-hours contracts 
			 East Midlands 23,000 
			 Source: Skills for Care workforce estimates 2011, NMDS SC May 2013

NHS: Conditions of Employment

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people employed in hospitals in England are on zero hours contracts.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.

NHS: Conditions of Employment

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance or policies his Department issues on the use of zero hours contracts in the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: Employment arrangements are a matter for individual national health service employers, subject to employment legislation.

NHS: Innovation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how (a) providers and (b) commissioners will be monitored on the adoption of the innovations set out in the Innovation Health and Wealth catalogue of potential innovations.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England is working with the national health service and a range of stakeholders to determine arrangements for use of the catalogue of potential innovations.
	In addition, for NHS trusts, the NHS Trust Development Authority collects compliance against the Innovation Health and Wealth requirements through their integrated plan checklist.

NHS: Staff

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what records are held by his Department on the number of NHS staff who have criminal convictions.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not hold any records on the number of national health service staff who have criminal convictions. It is for NHS trusts to conduct employment checks before hiring staff to find out if any applicants are debarred from jobs as a result of any criminal convictions. NHS trusts should also take appropriate action if any of their staff are convicted of a criminal offence while in post.
	NHS Employers provides guidance to NHS organisations in relation to employment checking requirements as outlined within the NHS Employment Check Standards, including the need for individuals to have Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Physiotherapy

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for access to physiotherapy in each of the last 10 years.

Daniel Poulter: Waiting times data, along with the mean waiting time for first out-patient attendances with a treatment specialty of physiotherapy, are only available from 2006-07. This treatment specialty was not available prior to this time. The data available only includes hospital out-patient appointments; however physiotherapy may take place in other settings such as primary care.
	
		
			  Mean waiting time (days) 
			 2006-07 21.8 
			 2007-08 29 
			 2008-09 30.8 
			 2009-10 29.1 
			 2010-11 27.2 
			 2011-12 26.6 
		
	
	Voluntary local collection on referral to treatment times has been encouraged since April 2010. From April 2013, acute providers were required to collect referral to treatment data on allied health professions.

Physiotherapy

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) provision and (b) support is in place to enable NHS staff access to physiotherapy services; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The provision of physiotherapy services for national health service staff is a matter for NHS trusts who, as employers, are responsible for the health and wellbeing of their employees.
	The Department has commissioned NHS Employers to support NHS trusts to improve the health and wellbeing of their staff and, in July 2012, they published ‘Rapid Access to treatment and rehabilitation for NHS staff’ which included a case study about rapid access to physiotherapy.
	The publication Is available on the NHS Employers website at:
	www.nhsemployers.org/Aboutus/Publications/Pages/RapidAccesstoTreatmentandRehabilitationforNHSstaff.aspx

Plastic Surgery

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to implement the recommendations of the Review of the Regulation of Cosmetic Interventions led by NHS medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh.

Daniel Poulter: The Government is supportive of the principal conclusions of the review. However, implementation of the recommendations raises a number of complex issues, which officials are working through, and involves a wide range of partners. As a result we now plan to publish the Government's response to Sir Bruce's review after the summer recess, rather than before as indicated in the written ministerial statement of 24 April 2013, Official Report, column 56WS.

Social Services

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that people who need regular and high standard social care receive the support that they need.

Norman Lamb: The responsibility for providing high quality social care services rests with providers. The Care Quality Commission (CQC), as the regulator of health and adult social care in England, has powers to require providers to comply with regulations governing the safety and quality of services.
	The CQC is currently consulting on its approach to inspection and regulation. This includes its plans to inspect care services, develop new fundamental standards of care that those services must meet and make better use of information and evidence to decide when, where and what to expect.
	The CQC is also appointing a powerful new Chief Inspector for Social Care who will be responsible for assessing and judging how well care providers put the quality of care at the heart of everything that they do, serving and protecting the interests of people that use their services.
	The Chief Inspector will oversee a system of quality ratings, which will help people make informed decisions when choosing home care and care homes—helped by new information on the NHS Choices websites that allows the public and users of services to review and comment on the performance of care providers.
	A Code of Conduct to describe the standards, behaviour and attitudes that people should be able to expect from care workers, together with improved minimum training standards to define the levels of expertise that social care workers must have, irrespective of their job role, has been published by Skills for Care.
	The Government has made a major commitment, led by the Department and 12 national health and care leaders, to improve coordination and break down the current barriers to integrated and effective health and care services, so that they focus on the needs of individuals, their families and carers. This work began in May.

Transplant Surgery

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are on waiting lists to receive an organ transplant in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England.

Anna Soubry: The information is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of people on the transplant waiting list in Ashfield constituency as at 18 June 2013 
			 Organ Active Suspended Total 
			 Kidney 4 3 7 
			 Liver 1 0 1 
			 Total 5 3 8 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of people on the transplant waiting list in Nottinghamshire as at 18 June 2013 
			 Organ Active Suspended Total 
			 Kidney 89 40 129 
			 Kidney/pancreas 6 3 9 
			 Pancreas 1 0 1 
			 Heart 3 0 3 
			 Lung(s) 3 0 3 
			 Heart/lung 1 0 1 
			 Liver 9 0 9 
			 Other multi organ 1 0 1 
			 Total 113 43 156 
			 Source: NHS Blood and Transplant.

Vending Machines

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vending machines in his Department's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value.

Daniel Poulter: There are a total of seven vending machines in the Department’s buildings.
	The vending machines offer a range and variety of snacks and cold drinks that include healthier options such as wholegrain crispy snacks, raw fruit snack bars, water etc. Calorific information (GDA) is displayed on the packaging of each item.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what amount has been spent and in what categories of expenditure by her Department in Ashfield constituency in each year since 2007.

Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not keep records of expenditure by individual constituency and would not be able to isolate this data, without incurring disproportionate costs.

Broadband

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance her Department issues to providers of fibre optic infrastructure to ensure that adequate internet speeds are available in all parts of the UK.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has made available funding to support broadband delivery which, together with local match funding, will enable every premises across the country to have access to broadband with speeds of at least 2 Mbps, as well as 90% availability of superfast broadband.

Broadband

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's definition is of the term economically unviable when applied to cabinets that enable fibre optic broadband.

Edward Vaizey: Cabinets which are not economically viable are those which are not expected to provide a commercial return, taking account of capital and operating costs and targeted revenues. The Government's rural broadband programme is based on providing sufficient subsidy to make investments viable which would not otherwise offer a commercial return.

Broadband

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with providers of fibre optic broadband infrastructure on publishing information on economically unviable cabinets.

Edward Vaizey: Before broadband projects can gain approval under the terms of the Department's umbrella broadband state aid scheme, that which was approved by the European Commission in November 2012, the project teams need to demonstrate that they have undertaken a public market consultation which should inform providers of broadband infrastructure where public subsidy is intended to be used to provide broadband coverage, so that subsidy is only applied in areas that are otherwise not scheduled to gain coverage from commercial deployments within the next three years.

Broadband: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households in Ashfield constituency are unable to receive a broadband internet connection.

Edward Vaizey: Ofcom reported in their Infrastructure report-2012 update that current generation broadband is available in close to 100% of premises in the UK. The Government, local authorities and the devolved Administrations are providing approximately £1.2 billion of public funding to deliver 90% availability of superfast broadband and universal standard broadband of at least 2Mbps.
	Nottinghamshire county council is currently undertaking a procurement for a project to improve broadband coverage in Nottinghamshire, with funding from the Government, local authorities and the European Regional Development Fund.

Broadband: Northamptonshire

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of progress on the rollout of high-speed broadband in Corby and East Northamptonshire.

Edward Vaizey: Northamptonshire county council entered into a contract in March 2013 for a £16 million public and private project covering over 87,000 premises in total. The project team and supplier are currently organising resources and planning for the physical implementation of the project which will commence later in 2013.

Coastal Areas: Regeneration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 13 May 2013, Official Report, columns 51-2W, on coastal areas: regeneration, when the Sea Change programme ended; and what the name was of its successor.

Edward Vaizey: The Sea Change programme ended on 31 March 2011 although two final grant instalments were paid in 2011-12. There was no direct DCMS successor programme to Sea Change.

Commonwealth Games 2014

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Scottish Government regarding the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Hugh Robertson: I regularly see the Scottish Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport to discuss a range of matters.

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2013, Official Report, column 722W, on conditions of employment, if she will require her executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to confirm whether any staff were retained on zero-hour contracts.

Hugh Robertson: The Department does not collate information about staffing contracts within our executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Accordingly, I have asked their chief executives to write to the hon. Member. Copies of their replies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Culture: Rural Areas

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if her Department will sign up to the proposals put forward for a Cultural Strategy for Rural England by the Littoral Arts Trust.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 18 June 2013
	DCMS’s Taking Part Survey found that, in 2011-12, people in rural areas, as opposed to urban areas, were more likely to have engaged in the arts once or more—80.9% in rural areas versus 77.5% in urban areas.
	Arts Council England has a particular goal to reach more audiences in more places. Its £45 million Strategic touring programme encourages collaboration between organisations so that more people across England experience the arts, particularly in places which rely on touring. The £37 million Creative People and Places fund invests in parts of the country where involvement in the arts is significantly below the national average—this includes a number of rural areas. The Arts Council is working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that its approach to rural communities remains in line with good practice.
	In this context, I am happy to support the work of the Littoral Arts Trust in maximising the benefits of culture to rural communities and their economies.

Football: Qatar

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will urge FIFA to have discussions with the Qatari Government on increasing labour rights and standards for migrant workers in Qatar following its decision to host the 2022 FIFA World cup in that country.

Hugh Robertson: The UK Government supports FIFA’s decision to award the 2022 World cup to Qatar. The Government has regular discussions with the Qatari authorities, on a wide range of issues, including human rights. We expect Qatar to ensure that the rights of all labourers are upheld and expect FIFA will be doing the same in discussions regarding the 2022 World cup. The Qatari authorities are committed to further action to improve such standards and rights, and their implementation, for example, through initiatives led by the Qatar Foundation and the 2022 World Cup Committee, and interaction with international human rights NGOs. We welcome such initiatives and will continue to engage regularly with the Qatari authorities and other interested parties, to encourage further progress in these areas.

Gambling

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will undertake an investigation into the potential link between gambling and use of payday loans.

Hugh Robertson: The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board advises on research, education and treatment programmes, to support a national responsible gambling strategy, and works with a range of organisations, including debt advice agencies in identifying priorities for that strategy.

Gaming Machines

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what her policy towards fixed-odds betting terminals is;
	(2)  what recent assessment she has made of the link between fixed-odds betting terminals and gambling addiction.

Hugh Robertson: Licensed gaming machine provision is subject to strict controls under the Gambling Act 2005, including restrictions on stake, prize, number and location of machines. The Government is in the process of reviewing gaming machine stake and prize limits and has called for any evidence linking certain types of gaming machine with an elevated risk of gambling related harm. The Government has recently received formal advice on this review from the Gambling Commission based on work undertaken by the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board.

Gaming Machines

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Gambling Commission on whether fixed-odds betting terminals are in breach of their betting licences.

Hugh Robertson: The law permits up to four B2 gaming machines, otherwise known as fixed odds betting terminals, to be sited at licensed betting premises. It is a condition of all betting operating licences that such machines may only be made available at licensed betting premises at times when sufficient facilities for betting are available. I and my officials discuss a range of matters with the Gambling Commission on a regular basis.

Public Expenditure

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the percentage change has been in her Department’s funding for each of its sponsored organisations since May 2010.

Hugh Robertson: DCMS funding, for each of its’ sponsored organisations, is set out each year, in the DCMS annual report. The annual report and accounts was published on 25 February 2013. The report for 2011-12 can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-12
	for 2010-11 at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11
	and for 2009-10 at:
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1011/hc02/0222/0222.pdf
	Copies were made available to the House via the Library, HC number 859.

Sports: Young People

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to encourage youth sport participation.

Hugh Robertson: Sport England are investing £1 billion through the Youth and Community Sport Strategy 2013-17, available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78318/creating_a_sporting_habit_for_life.pdf

Sports: Young People

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much in capital investment in youth sport her Department has spent in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much funding her Department provided to amateur sports clubs in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each of the last five years.

Hugh Robertson: Sport England investment from 2008 to March 2013, for the Jarrow constituency, was £119,011. The total funding for the South Tyneside local authority, over the same period, was £559,943. This is for both lottery and Exchequer funding. We cannot breakdown our funding in terms of amateur sports clubs or in terms of capital investment in youth sport. We do not have accurate total figures for the north-east and the UK.

TRANSPORT

Airports

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to improve surface connections to major airports.

Simon Burns: In March this year the Department published the Aviation Policy Framework which set out the Department's approach towards surface access at airports across the UK.
	A number of major improvements to airport surface access are currently under way including Crossrail services to Heathrow airport and improved rail services to Manchester airport as a result of the Northern Hub programme.
	The Department will continue to work closely with airport operators, transport operators, local authorities, local enterprise partnerships and other stakeholders to indentify further potential improvements to airport surface access.
	The Government has also asked the Airports Commission to recommend measures to improve the United Kingdoms' existing airport infrastructure in its interim report. Surface access is within the scope of this work and the interim report will be published by the end of this year.

Apprentices

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many apprentices are currently employed by his Department; and how many such apprentices are aged (a) under 19, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 59 and (e) more than 60.

Norman Baker: There are currently fewer than five members of staff who were recruited into the organisation as apprentices in the Department for Transport and its six Executive Agencies. The age range is between 19 and 30 years.
	The Department has recently developed a single approach to apprenticeships across the whole Department (including Executive Agencies) as part of our employment offer to new recruits for 2013-14. We plan to recruit apprentices in technical and generalist areas, in intermediate, higher and advanced level apprenticeships.

Billing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the savings it could achieve by paying its suppliers early in return for rebates.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport (DfT) has not undertaken a specific assessment of the availability of individual transaction rebates. DfT seeks to pay all suppliers promptly, in accordance with the performance targets for Government Departments.
	DfT has formal contractual relationships with a significant proportion of its suppliers. The requirement to pay supplier invoices promptly is one of the factors taken into account when conducting the procurement process.
	Rebates for early payment is a feature of certain sectors of the economy. Most purchases by the Department for Transport are for services, where transaction rebates are rarely offered.

BRB (Residuary) Ltd

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to investigate whether BRB (Residuary) Ltd land can be used for cycling routes.

Norman Baker: Subject to parliamentary approval BRB (Residuary) Ltd is due to be abolished at the end of September this year. BRBR continues to work closely with Railway Paths Ltd, who own a substantial amount of former track beds used as part of the National Cycle Network. DfT continues to work with Sustrans to support new cycle routes.

Bus Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to promote easier and cheaper (a) bus use and (b) interchange between bus, metro and train.

Norman Baker: The Government set out its vision for buses in its policy paper ‘Green Light for Better Buses’. Measures include incentivising partnership working between local authorities and bus operators and helping them to develop multi-operator ticketing schemes, improving competition in the local bus market, reforming the way Bus Service Operators Grant is paid, and supporting local authorities in their ability to procure non-commercial services.
	I have also encouraged initiatives to improve access to bus services for young people and job seekers, such as the new industry led web portal ‘BusforUs’ which aims to improve access to bus information for young people and Stagecoach's discounted bus travel scheme for job seekers. Older and disabled people remain entitled to free travel.
	The Department published a Door to Door Strategy in March 2013 which sets out our vision for improved integration across sustainable transport modes. This includes how we will work towards more affordable, smart and integrated ticketing and improve connections between public transport modes. An Action Plan setting out progress against our commitments will be published on the DFT website in November 2013.

Bus Services: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of people who (a) qualify for and (b) have claimed a disabled person’s bus pass in Barnsley East constituency.

Norman Baker: We estimate that in 2011-12, the latest year for which data is available, there were 748,000 disabled bus passes in circulation in England, of which, 33,000 were issued by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive—we do not have a specific estimate for Barnsley East.
	The relevant published tables are BUS0820 and BUS0890 which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus08-concessionary-travel
	In some travel concession authorities (TCAs) a number of eligible older disabled people will hold an older person’s bus pass rather than a disabled person’s bus pass—in particular, if no discretionary concessions are available in a TCA or if they offer the same to both older and disabled people. For example, if pre-9.30 am travel is offered to both older and disabled people then an older disabled person may choose to apply for an older person’s pass as eligibility is easier to prove—and will therefore not be included in the figures quoted for disabled passes.
	We do not know the number of people who qualify for a disabled bus pass but do not apply for one.

Driving: Licensing

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of illegal immigrants who currently hold a UK driving licence.

Stephen Hammond: No estimate has been made on the number of illegal immigrants who currently hold a GB driving licence.

Heathrow Airport

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the provision of landing slots at Heathrow airport for use by flights to the UK’s regional airports.

Simon Burns: EU regulations govern the allocation, transfer and exchange of slots at Heathrow and other slot co-ordinated airports in the UK. The purpose of the EU slot regulations is to support the operation of a single market for aviation by seeking to ensure airlines have fair and equal access to airports across the EU through the application of independent, non-discriminatory and transparent slot allocation procedures. The regulations stipulate that the actual process of slot allocation is undertaken entirely independently of the Government, the UK Civil Aviation Authority or other parties.
	In circumstances where vital connectivity would be lost, EU law does provide some scope to protect regional air services, by allowing member states to impose public service obligations (PSOs) to protect air services to airports serving a peripheral or development region, or on thin routes considered vital for a region’s economic and social development. Where a PSO has been approved, this would permit slots to be ring-fenced at a London airport. There is no other mechanism for the Government to intervene in the allocation of slots at London airports.
	The Government recognises the importance of regional air connectivity to London airports and the Aviation Policy Framework (APF) confirms that the Government would be inclined to support proposals by devolved and regional bodies to establish PSOs that comply with the specific conditions within EU law, where necessary to protect services between other UK airports and London.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional compensation schemes for people whose homes are affected by High Speed 2 would be funded under Clause 4(c) of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill.

Simon Burns: The 1932 PAC concordat(1) specifies that where spending carried out under common law powers is significant or likely to persist, parliamentary authority should be sought. Any non-statutory property compensation payments for HS2, beyond the phase one Exceptional Hardship Scheme, appears to meet both these criteria. The High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill will, therefore, ensure that authority is granted for such compensation to be made following the planned consultation that will be held later this year.
	The PAC Concordat is not believed to apply to the phase one Exceptional Hardship Scheme, as this scheme was only ever considered as an interim measure and as such the spending is not likely to persist.
	(1) See Annex 2.1 of HM Treasury Managing Public Money:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/179695/mpm_whole.pdf.pdf

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requests for discussions he has received from his counterpart in the Scottish Government on its potential involvement in the planned high speed rail networks.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), is in regular contact with the Scottish Government but has not had any meetings to discuss high speed rail. The Department is undertaking a study in collaboration with the Scottish Government on how to boost capacity and cut journey times so that Scotland can enjoy the benefits of a High Speed Britain.
	Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/ministerial-transparency/#meetings

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of High Speed 2 on UK air travel.

Simon Burns: The Economic Case for HS2 incorporates estimates of mode shift from air to rail as a result of the introduction of HS2. The current HS2 Economic Case forecast from HS2 Ltd is that in 2037 the completed Y network will carry 5.4 million passengers who might otherwise have travelled by air.

Members: Correspondence

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South of 11 December 2012. [Official Report, 1 July 2013, Vol. 565, c. 8MC.]

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not have a record of receiving a letter from the hon. Member dated 11 December 2012, but we will be pleased to respond speedily if she could provide a copy.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of telematics in helping to prevent accidents among new drivers.

Stephen Hammond: There are several studies that show that in-vehicle monitoring can help towards reducing risky behaviours, especially among the most risk-prone young drivers. However, published literature does not yet quantify the prevention of accidents among young drivers.
	The Department is publishing a Green Paper later this year, which will look at a range of options for ensuring young drivers have the skills and knowledge they need to stay safe on the roads. Vehicle technology and how it can help improve young driver behaviour will be considered within the wider context of the Green Paper.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to public funds is of the replacement on security grounds of current vehicle registration certificates by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency; whether this change was necessitated by a theft of V5C forms; and what steps have been taken to recover these costs.

Stephen Hammond: The additional cost of issuing new vehicle registration certificates to all vehicle keepers has been £6.3 million. The new style vehicle registration certificate was introduced by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in August 2010 to help protect motorists from vehicle crime following the theft of a quantity of blank certificates from a commercial premises in 2006. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has started legal action to attempt to recover these costs.

Public Transport: Tickets

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was of issuing English National Concessionary Scheme cards through the Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation.

Norman Baker: The responsibility for issuing English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) passes lies with local transport authorities. In 2007/08, the Department for Transport provided £31 million of grant funding to local authorities in England for the cost of producing and issuing the new England-wide ENCTS bus passes.
	However a significant proportion of these costs were not linked to the requirement for passes to be ITSO smartcards. Costs such as entitlement checking, photo collection and postage costs would have been incurred even if passes were issued in a non-smart format.
	Between 2007 and 2012, the Department provided a further £3.6m in contract payments to ITSO Services Ltd for the provision of back office functions to support the smart element of ENCTS for some local authorities. With additional costs of £1.9m, the total cost of issuing ENCTS cards was £36.5m.

Public Transport: Tickets

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what value of (a) direct grants and (b) loans were made for the purposes of Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation implementation and renewal between April 2006 and March 2013.

Norman Baker: Between April 2000 and March 2013, the Department provided £7.5m in direct grant to ITSO Ltd. In 2009, a loan of £3.6m was made by the Department to ITSO Ltd, on which interest and capital are repayable over the period 2010/11-2021/22. It is not possible to separate the payments made between 2000 and 2010 without incurring disproportionate costs.
	For ease of reference, the payments are detailed below.
	
		
			  Year £ million 
			 Actual payments 2000 to 2010 5 
			  2010-11 0.392 
			  2011-12 2.108 
			  2012-13 0 
			  Total 7.5 
			    
			 Loan facility 2009 (1)3.6 
			 (1) Interest and capital repayable over the period 2010-11 to 2021-22.

Public Transport: Tickets

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on consultants contracted to the development and implementation of the Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation project, by date of allocation.

Norman Baker: With regard to the Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation, now renamed ITSO Ltd, the Department for Transport has not contracted or paid directly for any consultants to work on the establishment and functioning of the organisation in this Parliament.
	The Department took ownership of the ITSO specification in 2006 and capitalised its value at £4,136,375. It is reasonable to assess that the majority of the costs incurred in drafting the ITSO specification were made up of input from consultants with the appropriate expertise.

Railways

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the benefit-cost ratio was in his Department's final business case for the Northern Hub project.

Simon Burns: Business cases were undertaken for each major scheme contained within the Northern Hub programme. Before funding was agreed, the benefit:cost ratios were in the range of 2.1 to 4.2. These will be subject to change as each scheme reaches a further level of development.

Railways: Cycling

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail about (a) the closure to cyclists of the crossing of the Clacton branch railway line which gives access to the grounds of the University of Essex from the Wivenhoe Trail and (b) similar closures by Network Rail in other parts of the country.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with Network Rail either over the closure to cyclists of the level crossing of the Clacton branch railway line, which gives access to the grounds of the University of Essex from the Wivenhoe Trail, or similar closures in other parts of the country.
	The decision to close the level crossing of the Clacton branch railway line to cyclists was taken by Network Rail in its role as safety duty holder, following a risk assessment.

Railways: Debts

Andrew McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what degree the Government is liable for National Rail's debt.

Simon Burns: Network Rail is responsible for any debt which it incurs. Under the Financial Indemnity Mechanism (FIM) provided by the Government to Network Rail, the Government provides a guarantee for all of Network Rail's net debt after taking into account any cash assets. In the event that Network Rail is unable to meet its debt and this guarantee is called, the Government will be responsible for the level of debt that Network Rail is unable to satisfy at the time that the guarantee is called.

Railways: Finance

Andrew McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total amount of private sector investment in the UK's railway network has been since 1996.

Simon Burns: The Department for Transport does not hold data relating to private investment in the rail industry. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) website provides data for 2006-07 and 2012-13, and this can be found at:
	http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/browsereports/1

Railways: Franchises

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the criteria are for determing whether a train operating company (a) pays a premium and (b) receives subsidy for running services on the rail network.

Simon Burns: Franchise payments are offered by bidders as part of the competition for each franchise. Whether a franchise is premium or subsidy paying depends on the underlying costs and revenue basis of the franchise and the commercial and risk appetites of the bidders.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Andrew McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what agreements his Department has with train operating companies to cover financial losses caused by industrial action.

Norman Baker: The Secretary of State has discretion, under the terms of Franchise Agreements with franchised train operators, to reimburse or ameliorate net losses of a franchised operator arising from industrial action, where he or she is satisfied that the franchisee has taken all reasonable steps to mitigate its effects.

Roads

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what amount his Department spent on (a) road building and (b) road maintenance in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has spent the following on major road schemes in each of the last five years:
	
		
			 (a) Major road improvement schemes 
			 Financial year £ million 
			 2008-09 941 
			 2009-10 985 
			 2010-11 1,175 
			 2011-12 926 
			 2012-13 552 
		
	
	These include schemes on the national strategic road network and the local road network. The figures include some "package" schemes which are predominantly roads based but which also include an element of public transport infrastructure. It would not be possible to separate these out from local roads spend without disproportionate cost.
	In addition the Department has spent the following on road maintenance in each of the last five years:
	
		
			 (b) Road maintenance 
			 Financial Year £million 
			 2008-09 1,660 
			 2009-10 (1)2,084 
			 2010-11 (1)1,692 
			 2011-12 (1)1,815 
			 2012-13 1,487 
			 (1) Includes additional funding agreed. Figures are total maintenance £ million. 
		
	
	Please note that local authorities are also able to use revenue funding, allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government through the revenue support grant for maintaining their local highways. Neither revenue nor capital highways maintenance block funding is ring-fenced and it is for local highway authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services that they provide.
	The Department is also funding highways maintenance projects in Portsmouth, Birmingham, Sheffield, Isle of Wight and the London borough of Hounslow through the private finance initiative.
	The funding for road repairs in London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are matters for the respective administrations.

South West Trains

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the franchising arrangements for South West Trains will be formally reviewed.

Simon Burns: The. South West franchise is under constant review as part of the standard franchise management process. The Government has stated its intention to negotiate a Direct Award contract with the incumbent operator for the period following the end of the current franchise in 2017 to 31 March 2019. This will be subject to affordability and value for money.
	The next South West franchise is due to start in April 2019. Specifications for the new franchise will be formally defined over the two years leading up to April 2019.

South West Trains

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the future franchising arrangements for South West Trains will be subject to open consultation.

Simon Burns: For previous full franchise competitions we have carried out formal consultations and we expect to follow similar processes in future. The detailed franchise arrangements specific to South West are not yet finalised and decisions about potential consultation opportunities are yet to be reached.

Transport: Finance

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of local government spending on transport is funded from (a) local funding sources and (b) central government allocations and grants.

Norman Baker: It is not possible to say what the proportions of local government spending on transport funded come from (a) local and (b) central government sources.
	In 2011-12 local authorities received £2.2bn from the Department for Transport. Formula Grant, administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government, was £29.4bn.This included elements for some transport services. However authorities are able to allocate it according to their own priorities. In 2011-12 local government spent £7.9bn on transport.

West Coast Railway Line

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 531W, on West Coast Railway Line, what assessment he has made of the effect on the (a) UK and (b) Scottish economies of the deterioration of the public performance measure.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has not made any such assessment in relation to the UK economy. It would be a matter for the Scottish Government to consider whether it wished to make an assessment specifically in relation to the Scottish economy.
	As indicated in the previous answer referred to by the hon. Member, the Department is monitoring closely performance issues on the West Coast route, and the Office of Rail Regulation has indicated that it intends to take enforcement action against Network Rail for poor performance on the West Coast and other long distance routes if the company fails to achieve its performance targets for 2013-14.

EDUCATION

School Examination Reform

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy objectives are in reforming the school examination system.

Elizabeth Truss: We need an examination system that competes with the best in the world. Students will gain a deep understanding and fluency in core subjects so that they can progress to higher education and employment. That is why we are moving away from 'learn and forget' modules and 'predictable questions' to a deeper, linear assessment.

Academies (Surplus Places)

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on surplus places in academies; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: Many academies, being good schools, are oversubscribed. For example, ARK and Harris academies receive, on average, four applications for each place available.
	But we are clear that money should be spent on pupils who are actually in schools and not spent on funding empty places. That is why we fund the vast majority of academies on the basis of the annual school census.

Free Schools

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many additional school places will be provided by free schools by 2015.

Elizabeth Truss: All open and currently approved free schools will deliver 130,000 new school places when full. We also hope to approve more new schools for opening in 2015 or before.

Academies

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the academies programme.

Michael Gove: This month we published the 2011-12 Academies Annual Report which provides an analysis of the academies programme's performance. There are now 2,976 open academies and 1,079 in the pipeline. Last year GCSE results increased faster in sponsored academies than in comparable LA-run schools, while the number of disadvantaged children at converter academies who achieved five or more good GCSEs was higher than the number of children who achieved similar results in maintained schools.

Anti-Slavery Day

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have to mark Anti-Slavery Day; and if he will take steps to ensure that officials in his Department are offered an opportunity to be involved in various events organised by (i) his Department, (ii) local authorities and (iii) NGOs.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government is committed to combating human trafficking by tackling organised crime groups and protecting the victims of modern day slavery.
	The Department recognises the importance of Anti-Slavery Day as an opportunity to improve understanding of historical and modern day slavery, but does not have any specific plans to mark the day.

Apprentices

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many apprentices are currently employed by his Department; and how many are aged (a) under 19, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 59 and (e) 60 and over.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education currently employs 33 apprentices. Their age breakdown is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Age Number 
			 Under 19 5 
			 19 to 25 23 
			 26 to 30 <5 
			 31 to 59 <5 
			 60 and over <5 
		
	
	By comparison, the Department employed 18 apprentices in May 2010. Their age breakdown is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Age Number 
			 Under 19 <5 
			 19 to 25 8 
			 26 to 30 <5 
			 31 to 59 6 
			 60 and over <5

Children in Care: Missing Persons

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children went missing from the care of each local authority in each of the last three years.

Edward Timpson: The Department currently collects information on children looked after by local authorities in England who went missing from their agreed placement for a period of 24 hours or more.
	A table showing the number of children who went missing from their agreed placement, in each local authority, during the years ending 31 March 2010 to 2012, has been placed in the Library. Children who went missing on more than one occasion during the year have been recorded only once for that year.
	It is known that there is some under-reporting of children missing from their agreed placement by local authorities and therefore in the statistics we publish. Comparisons with other data sources on missing children indicate that the figures presented are an undercount of the true figure, in part due to definitional issues (e.g. the Department only collects information on children missing for more than 24 hours).
	Work was undertaken in 2012 to improve the quality of the data returned by local authorities and this is likely to have contributed to the significant rise in the numbers of missing children reported. This quality improvement work is ongoing this year and will continue in future years.

Children: Protection

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps his Department has taken to protect children from sexual abuse.

Edward Timpson: This Government believes that protection from abuse is a fundamental right for all children. We are reforming the child protection system so that professionals can provide the best support for all vulnerable children and their families. We are also continuing to work with other Government Departments to respond to specific forms of abuse, such as child sexual exploitation and grooming, and areas where children may come to harm—for example, through accessing inappropriate material online.

Children's Centres

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) Sure Start centres and (b) children's centres are operating.

Elizabeth Truss: Sure Start centres and Sure Start children's centres are the same thing: that is, institutions that meet the statutory definition of a children's centre in section 5 of the Childcare Act 2006.
	Information supplied by local authorities showed that, as of 31 May 2013, there were 3,103 Sure Start children's centres in England.

Education

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has identified a shortfall in available (a) education and training places and (b) education places in (i) Yorkshire and (ii) England.

David Laws: Local authorities in England have statutory responsibility under the Education Act 1996 to secure suitable education and training places to meet the needs of 16 to 19-year-olds.
	The Education Funding Agency (EFA) supports local authorities to discharge their duty by supplying local level student data and giving them the opportunity to present their case for any identified shortfall in education and training places for students aged 16-19. In cases where gaps are identified, the EFA will either fill those places through negotiation with providers or it will run a competitive tender.
	In 2011/12 no bids were received for an identified shortfall in places from local authorities in Yorkshire. Bids for approximately 5,000 places were received from 50 local authorities from other areas of England.
	In 2012/13 one bid was received from the East Riding of Yorkshire for a shortfall of 235 places. Bids for 1,459 places were received from 15 other local authorities from other areas of England.

Education: Assessments

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that reformed GCSEs and A-levels match the quality of exams in the world's top performing states.

Elizabeth Truss: The best-performing jurisdictions deliberately set out to benchmark themselves against others. Our reforms to GCSEs and A levels are informed by the expectations set in those jurisdictions that perform best in international tests. The new GCSEs and A levels will be demanding and fulfilling qualifications that match those expectations.
	Ofqual will also expect exam boards to draw on international evidence as they develop their new qualifications.

National Curriculum Tests

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what Key Stage 1 results were achieved by children (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals in each Government Office region in each of the last 10 years.

David Laws: The Department published data for the last three years on the achievements at key stage 1 of pupils eligible for free school meals and all other pupils in the ‘Phonics screening check and national curriculum assessments at Key Stage 1 in England: 2012’ Statistical First Release (SFR). This document can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phonics-screening-check-and-national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-1-in-england-2012
	The relevant data are within table 22, which can be found in the ‘KS1—local authority and pupil residency-based tables: SFR21/2012’ link. The data for 2010 or 2011 can be displayed by using the drop down menus on the top right of the table.
	The Department published data for 2008 and 2009 on achievements at key stage 1 by pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils not eligible for free school meals in the ‘National curriculum assessments at Key Stage 1 in England: 2011’ SFR, which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-1-in-england-2011
	The relevant data are within table 14, which can be found in the ‘Local authority tables by pupil characteristics and pupil residency tables: SFR22/2011’ link. The data for 2008 or 2009 can be displayed by using the drop down menus on the top right of the table.
	The figures for 2006 and 2007 can be found in the table which has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Figures for the years 2003 to 2005 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education by what criteria the pupil premium will be set under universal credit.

David Laws: Under universal credit, pupil premium eligibility will continue to be based on the current criteria. Pupil premium grant for each school is based on the number of its pupils recorded either as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years (known as Ever 6 FSM) or as pupils in care who have been continuously looked after for more than six months by a local authority. The grant is paid at a rate of £900 per pupil for 2013-14. The total pupil premium will amount to £2.5 billion in 2014-15.

Special Educational Needs

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to make local services more inclusive and accessible for disabled children and their families.

Edward Timpson: Decisions about the development of local services are for local authorities to make, taking into account their statutory responsibilities.
	Part 3 of the Children and Families Bill includes provision for local authorities to publish a local offer setting out the support they expect to be available to children and young people with special educational needs, many of whom will be disabled.
	The Bill provides for the involvement of local parents, children and young people in developing and reviewing the local offer. Indicative draft regulations make clear that local authorities will be required to seek and publish comments on the content of the local offer, including the quality of the provision available and any provision that is not available; the accessibility of the local offer; and how the local offer has been developed or reviewed, including how children, young people and parents have been involved in those processes.

Special Educational Needs

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what support he plans to make available to children with less complex special educational needs once the School Action and School Action Plus programmes have ended.

Edward Timpson: As part of a new special education needs (SEN) code of practice, the Department will publish details of a new approach for children with SEN.
	The changes will not affect the overall availability of support for children with SEN; the aim is to help improve teaching and support for pupils with SEN and promote better identification of need and associated provision.
	An indicative SEN code of practice which includes the draft SEN support was published during the Committee Stages of the Children and Families Bill. The Department is engaging with a range of interested parties before producing a full draft for public consultation in autumn 2013.
	Subject to the passage of the Children and Families Bill, the resulting code will be laid before Parliament in early 2014 with the aim of it being approved by spring 2014 in time for it to come into force alongside the other reforms.

Special Educational Needs

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the evaluation of the SEND pathfinder programme process and implementation research report published on 13 June 2013.

Edward Timpson: The process and implementation research report provides an important ‘stocktake' of the effectiveness of the systems and processes which pathfinders have been developing, and indicates where further refinement and support are necessary.
	Overall, the report shows that good progress is being made. Levels of engagement with the pathfinder programme are generally high; especially with parents. Key working approaches have been well-received by families, who report experiencing an increase in choice and control. Pathfinders are picking up the pace in developing their local offers and we are seeing the beginnings of a culture shift in assessment and planning; with a growing emphasis on personalisation and multi-agency approaches.
	The report identifies a number of significant challenges, most notably for pathfinders to scale-up new approaches to whole areas without losing the benefits to families. Our pathfinder support team, Mott MacDonald, is using the evaluation findings to shape forthcoming learning events with pathfinders.
	Findings from this and previous independent evaluation reports continue to inform scrutiny of the special educational needs (SEN) provisions in the Children and Families Bill and the development of regulations and the new SEN code of practice.
	Pathfinder champions are operating in every region and supporting non-pathfinder areas to prepare for implementation of the reforms. The champions are using the findings of the evaluation to shape the information and advice they offer. In addition, emerging findings from the report are being incorporated into a suite of tools for non-pathfinder areas, including a series of information packs demonstrating pathfinder learning.
	Our SEN Strategic Reform Partner, the Council for Disabled Children, is drawing on the findings of the evaluation as it shares key messages with local areas to help them prepare for implementation of the reforms.

Third Sector

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether each contract awarded under the Department's voluntary, community and social enterprise sector Prospectus Grants Programme 2013-15 was publicly advertised.

Edward Timpson: The VCSE National Prospectus Grants Programme 2013-15 was launched in October 2012. Full details were made publicly available on the DFE website, including the Prospectus and a series of frequently asked questions. A list of organisations which were successful is also on the website.
	Annex A of the Prospectus included details of a number of contracted services that were likely to be procured in due course through separate formal tender processes. We used the Prospectus document to alert the VCSE sector to these potential contracts. When it was decided to proceed with the contracts, these were advertised on the Contracts Finder website and awarded following standard Department procedures.

Young People: Unemployment

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps local authorities will be expected to take in respect of any young people aged between 16 and 18 years not in full-time education, employment and training from September 2015.

David Laws: Local authorities will have statutory duties to promote the effective participation of 16 and 17-year-olds in education or training and to identify those who are not participating. These complement their existing duties to secure sufficient education and training provision for 16 to 18-year-olds and to enable, encourage or assist them to participate. Local authorities will be responsible for establishing the most effective steps to deliver these duties in their area.
	The Department published statutory guidance in March 2013 setting out the key expectations on local authorities.(1) These include: working with schools to identify those who are in need of targeted support or who are at risk of not participating post-16; adhering to the September Guarantee process; and providing strategic leadership in their area, working with and influencing partners to support participation. The guidance makes it clear that local authorities are expected to pay particular attention to young people who are not in any form of education, employment or training.
	(1)http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/youngpeople/participation/rpa/g00222993/sta-guide-young-people-edu-employ-train

Young People: Unemployment

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of young people aged between 16 and 18 years who are expected to not be in education in September 2015.

David Laws: From 2015, young people will be under a duty to participate in education or training, until their 18th birthday. We recognise that there will always be a small number of young people who require a temporary break in education or training (such as new mothers or the very ill).
	Young people will be able to choose how they meet this duty. While many will continue in state-funded education, others may undertake full-time employment with employer-funded training or enrol in independent schools. The number of places we will provide for state-funded education and training for the 2015/16 academic year will largely be determined by recruitment in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 academic years and will be considered as part of the deliberations on the current spending round, which are not yet complete.

Young People: Unemployment

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what analysis his Department has undertaken of the number of places for post-16 education, employment or training which will be available from September 2015.

David Laws: The number of places we will provide for state-funded education and training for the 2015/16 academic year is part of the deliberations on the current spending round, which are not yet complete. The Department for Education funds each year predominantly on the basis of student recruitment in the previous year. The number of state-funded places made available in the 2015/16 academic year will therefore be determined by recruitment in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 academic years. The Department for Education does not forecast numbers of 16 to 19-year-olds in employment.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the role of EUFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: This Government is a committed supporter of EUFOR Operation Althea. It plays a critical role in helping to deter political and ethnic tensions, which might threaten the country's stability. The renewal of EUFOR's executive mandate later this year is vital to ensure this safeguard continues.
	This year the UK is contributing a company of Irish Guards to the EUFOR regional reserve, as a demonstration of our commitment to the EUFOR mission. The Irish Guards trained alongside Bosnian and Herzegovinian forces in country in April in an effort to help improve the latter's capabilities and change perceptions toward NATO.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Minister will represent the Government at the 11 July Commemoration of the Srebrenica massacre.

David Lidington: The Government is usually represented at the memorial event held in Srebrenica by our ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Senior Minister of State, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi, also attended in 2010 and 2011. This year the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), Baroness Warsi and the Attorney-General will represent the Government at the 'Remembering Srebrenica' commemoration event on 11 July at Lancaster House.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to support Bosnia's Euro—Atlantic Agreement aspirations since 2012; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The UK Government strongly supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU and NATO membership ambitions. We continue to deliver clear and consistent messages to the country's political leaders on the importance of a committed effort to meet the conditions required for progress along the EU and NATO accession paths. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), stressed this most recently when he met Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister in London in April.
	The UK is supporting this process and the work of the EU through a number of programmes designed to help Bosnia and Herzegovina make the reforms necessary for accession. These include work to help improve the judicial and security sectors, and ensuring that the rule of law is enshrined, thus strengthening internal stability.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the continuation of the role of the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

David Lidington: This Government supports the continued role of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) for Bosnia and Herzegovina in ensuring implementation of the civilian aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement. We maintain that the OHR should remain until the five objectives and two conditions (known as the ‘5 + 2’) for its closure are met. There has been no progress on the ‘5 + 2’ this year.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina with his German counterpart; and what the outcome was of that discussion.

David Lidington: Both the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and I frequently meet our counterparts, His Excellency Guido Westerwelle and Mr Michael Link and discuss current challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the Western Balkans. Our senior officials also have frequent contact with their German counterparts, most recently discussing the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the meeting of the Peace Implementation Council in Sarajevo in May.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met his Bosnian counterpart; and what the outcome was of that meeting.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), last met the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, His Excellency Zlatko Lagumdzija on 17 April in London. He expressed his deep disappointment that Bosnia and Herzegovina's political leaders had failed to reach agreement on bringing the Constitution into line with the 2009 European Court of Human Rights ruling on Sejdic Finci, so that all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina might stand for election to the presidency and the House of Peoples irrespective of their ethnic background. The Secretary of State stressed UK commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina's ambition for EU and NATO membership, but made clear that the onus was on the country's leaders to make the reforms necessary to move their country forward in the interests of its citizens.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implementation of the Dayton Agreement in Bosnia- Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: In recent months in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have seen actions challenging the authority of state-level institutions and laws, and the authority of decisions made by the High Representative, as well as inflammatory nationalistic rhetoric. In Republika Srpksa, President Dodik continues to challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state, thus undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement. In Mostar, the failure of local institutions to implement the Constitutional Court's decision on Mostar's electoral system violates the peace agreement and prevents the population from participating in a vote on their local political representatives. I am concerned also at the continuing disregard for the rule of law throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
	As a member of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board, the UK works closely with the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The UK Government fully supports the continuing role of the High Representative as the final authority in theatre on the implementation of the civilian elements of the Dayton Peace Agreement. The UK is also a strong supporter of the EU-led peacekeeping mission, EUFOR Althea, whose executive mandate remains an important safeguard of stability. We remain resolutely committed to Bosnia and Herzegovina as a sovereign and stable country on the path to the EU and NATO.

British Overseas Territories

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to implement its commitment in the June 2012 White Paper on the Overseas Territories (OTs) to (a) help the populated OTs to extend UN human rights conventions and to implement fully those that have already been extended to them and (b) further safeguard children from abuse.

Mark Simmonds: Most of the main UN human rights conventions have already been extended to the majority of the populated territories. We continue to encourage territories to request the extension of any outstanding human rights conventions when they are in a position to implement them, and continue to provide assistance where necessary.
	At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council in December 2012 we agreed to work with the territories to improve strategies to ensure the safeguarding of children. We recently commissioned expert reviews of child safeguarding measures in Ascension, St Helena, Pitcairn and Montserrat. We are exploring with the Department for International Development how we can support further work on this important agenda.

Disciplinary Proceedings

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff were suspended from his Department and its associated public bodies on full pay in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and what costs were incurred as a result of such suspensions.

Alistair Burt: In each of the three years, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) suspended fewer than five staff. The FCO, in line with Cabinet Office guidance, cannot disclose more detailed information for reasons of confidentiality and to avoid the possibility of revealing the identities of individual staff. The figures do not include locally employed staff as records are not held centrally. To obtain this additional data would incur disproportionate costs.
	In 2010-11 and 2011-12, FCO Services, a trading fund of the FCO, did not suspend any staff. In 2012-13, five staff were suspended on full pay. The total cost of salary payments for all five individuals over the periods of their suspension was £19,599.
	The British Council does not hold central records on staff suspensions for its global network and therefore the requested information could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
	In each of the three years, fewer than five staff were suspended by Wilton Park and our arm’s length bodies.

Hungary

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Hungarian counterpart on the treatment of the Roma minority in Hungary.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not recently discussed the treatment of the Roma community with his Hungarian counterpart.
	However, the UK makes a full and constructive contribution to discussions on Roma integration in international organisations, such as the EU, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We are committed to working with our European partners in improving the social and economic situation of the Roma; and British embassies are active in this area in a number of European countries. The British embassy in Budapest is involved in a number of local projects, including liaising with the Hungarian Roma Police Union, as well as organising school and community programmes in disadvantaged areas of Hungary heavily populated by Roma. The British ambassador has recently been on a regional visit to Roma communities in the North-East of Hungary to promote diversification and the rule of law.

Iran

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the closure of stores and warehouses belonging to members of the Bahá'i community in Hamadan, Iran by government officials; what assessment he has made of the implications of those actions for the 1958 Convention on Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: I have not received any reports on this specific issue, but I am well aware from the Baha'i community in the UK and the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, of the Iranian regime's continued persecution of the Baha'i. This includes systematic exclusion of Baha'is in Iran from economic life in contravention of Iran's obligations as a signatory to the 1958 convention in respect for employment and occupations and the international covenant on civil and political rights. I have repeatedly and publicly called for Iran to stop their persecution of the Baha'i, and abide by its international obligations. We will continue to closely monitor the situation of the Baha'i in Iran, and condemn any violations of their rights.

Israel

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the report on Children in Israeli Military Detention, published by UNICEF in March 2013.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of the worrying report by UNICEF on Children in Israeli Military Detention. The British Government shares many of the report's concerns, which accord with an independent report on Children in Military Custody published in June 2012 by leading British lawyers, which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funded and facilitated.
	I have written to the Israeli ambassador to London to urge Israel to take action on this latter report. Both myself and the Attorney-General, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve), raised these issues again with the Israeli Attorney-General when he visited the UK between 19 and 20 June 2013. I also raised these issues with the Israeli Justice Minister when I was in the region between 11 and 13 June 2013.
	We continue to call on Israel to take action in line with the recommendations made in the independent report and echoed in the UNICEF report, whose publication has enabled greater co-ordination with EU partners on these issues. My officials continue to work with the Israeli authorities in conjunction with European partners to implement important recommendations to end the use of solitary confinement among minors and apply existing guidelines for the use of single hand ties, translation of arrest warrants into Arabic, the use of audio-visual equipment at all interrogations and efforts to ensure the presence of parents at the event of an arrest of a minor.
	In the meantime I welcome some limited steps taken by the Israeli authorities. These include a recent Israeli military order which reduces the length of time children can be held in pre-trial detention and-a reduction, from April, of the period a Palestinian minor can be held before being brought before a judge. I also welcome the introduction in some cases of audio-visual recording of interrogations and greater efforts to ensure that parents are present during interrogations. However, this is not sufficient and we continue to press the Israeli authorities for further action.

Occupied Territories

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide guidance to UK tour operators operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on the status and legality of Israeli settlement businesses.

Alistair Burt: When approached by British companies, we set out our clear position on settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories—they are illegal, an obstacle to peace and make a negotiated two-state solution harder to achieve.
	International law does not impose obligations on corporations and, for a British company to operate in Israeli settlements is, per se, not contrary to UK law. However, the British Government expects British companies to show respect for human rights in their operations in the UK and internationally. The UK is developing a global strategy on business and human rights—based on the UN Guiding Principles—which will be launched soon.
	As part of this we intend to place additional country-specific guidance on human rights issues in overseas markets on the Overseas Business Risk Service website. This will include guidance on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to ensure that British corporations are aware of our clear position on the illegality of settlements, and our expectation that British companies respect human rights throughout their operations.

Syria

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ensure that weapons' shipments are not sent to Syria without a full debate in Parliament.

Alistair Burt: No decision has been made to send shipments of weapons to the Syrian opposition. If there were to be a decision, both the Prime Minister, and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), have been clear that there would be an opportunity for Parliament to have a say on the matter. The Secretary of State reiterated this point in the House on 18 June, saying:
	“we would not want to pursue any aspect of our policy on this issue against the will of the House of Commons. That is neither feasible nor desirable, so of course we have made clear that there would be a vote. I have also made it clear that we would expect it to be before any such decision was put into action”.
	Although we have not made a decision to send arms, with the ending of the EU arms embargo we now have the flexibility to respond in the future if the situation continues to deteriorate and if the Assad regime refuses to negotiate. We would only provide lethal equipment in carefully controlled circumstances; and in accordance with our obligations under national and international law.

Syria

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition his Department uses for an extremist when allocating military and non-military aid in Syria.

Alistair Burt: We are not sending any lethal support to any elements of the Syrian Opposition, nor have we made a decision to do so.
	The UK has committed £30 million in non-lethal assistance to strengthen the moderate opposition to help continue its work in responding to the needs of the population and to engage in political dialogue. All the support we provide is carefully targeted and provided to carefully identified recipients, co-ordinated with like-minded countries, consistent with our laws and values and based on rigorous analysis.
	We draw a clear distinction between extremist groups and the moderate opposition, including the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) and the Supreme Military Council (SMC) led by General Idris. Over 130 countries now recognise the SNC as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. We work with the SNC and SMC on the basis that they have rejected and condemned all forms of terrorism and any extremist ideology or mentality.

Syria

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the total number of (a) people and (b) people described by his Department as extremists fighting in Syria against government forces.

Alistair Burt: We do not have a reliable estimate of the total number of individuals fighting in Syria against Government forces or the proportion of extremists. As stated in the G8 Communiqué we are deeply concerned by the growing threat from terrorism and extremism in Syria, and also by the increasingly sectarian nature of the conflict. The Communiqué called on the Syrian authorities and opposition to commit to destroying and expelling from Syria all organisations and individuals affiliated to Al Qaeda, and any other non-state actors linked to terrorism.

Turkey

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current political situation in Turkey is; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Government is following events in Turkey closely and has been concerned by the disturbing events in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities across Turkey. We hope to see the issues raised by the protesters resolved peacefully through dialogue. A stable, democratic and prosperous Turkey is important for regional stability. Turkey remains an important foreign policy partner and a NATO ally, and the UK will continue to support its reform agenda.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the protests with Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister on 11 June as part of a broader discussion and encouraged a peaceful resolution. I made the same points to the Turkish EU Affairs Minister, Egemen Bagis on 13 June.